KARMA EN PASSANT (2005)
(v1)
I was born the ruler of the palace
Baptized in the holy regal chalice
Thought that men approached with fear and malice
Taxed the peoples’ goods and took their cattle
Subjugated proud and honest nations
Died when someone poisoned my libations
Mourned by noone save a few relations
Soon reborn an orphan of the battle
(chorus)
Just as I’m put in the ground
Karma pulls me back around
And demotes me just for spite
In another life I’m found
Till I fin’lly get it right
(v2)
Took a soldier’s oath no man could sunder
Heard the clash of swords and cannon’s thunder
Followed the crusades to loot and plunder
Sold the contents of a reliquary
Burned by heathen as an unbeliever
Born again the child of a weaver
Watched him die of plague, dissolved in fever
Raised by brothers in a monastery
(chorus)
(bridge)
I get no breaks for my mistakes, I pay the cost
And make another try
I’m kept in check along my trek and then I’m lost
I’m born again to die
(v3)
As a Friar I grew rich and fatter
Taking payments from the weekly platter
Learned to kiss a ring and learned to flatter
Drowned at sea, awash in greedy sinning
Born again in poverty and squalor
Born without a helmet, crown or collar
Every day I’m begging for a dollar
Waiting for another new beginning
(chorus)
©2005 Z. Mulls
This lyric is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office as part of the collection THE COLLECTED LYRICS OF Z. MULLS Volume One 1995-2006
The assignment was to write a song about the circle of life, from birth to death.
My solution was to do a song about reincarnation (several births/deaths). The singer does a lot of really evil things in each life and is demoted (bad karma).
"En Passant" is a chess term where a pawn can capture when passing. The narrator in the song regresses from a King to a Knight to a Bishop and finally winds up a Pawn,
