Here’s a Pink Floyd cover I did. This is the song “Childhood’s End” and it’s from their album, Obscured By Clouds.
Trent Boswell – vocals, guitar, bass
Lyrics:
You shout in your sleep Perhaps the price was just too steep Is your conscience at rest If once put to the test? You awake with a start To just the beating of your heart Just one man beneath the sky Just two ears, just two eyes
You set sail across the sea Of long past thoughts and memories Childhood’s end, your fantasies Merge with harsh realities And then as the sail is hoist You find your eyes are growing moist All the fears never voiced Say you have to make the final choice
Who are you and who am I To say we know the reason why? Some are born; some men die Beneath one infinite sky There’ll be war, there’ll be peace But everything one day will cease All the iron turned to rust All the proud men turned to dust And so all things, time will mend So the song will end
Words and original music written by Pink Floyd. I’m covering the song but I’m not charging anything for it, because seriously… who can afford Pink Floyd royalties?!
But you can support the creation of more music, poetry and madness by Trent Boswell, at:
Many thanks to the following, for the images in the video. You may or may not like the music but if you like the video, the credit for that is all theirs.
There are several tiers of support, each one with more benefits than the last, starting as low as $3 per month.
Many thanks to the following, for the images in the video. You may or may not like the music but if you like the video, the credit for that is all theirs.
I met tragedy yesterday On the south end, today He smiled at me Said “Walk this way” He took my hand, said to me “Welcome friend. You’ll be with me.”
Said “I’m pleased to know you.” Said “I’m pleased to do you.” Said “You may leave…” “You will return.” He said “You still smile, child…” “But you will learn.”
I am no hope***
I said “I want my freedom.” I said “I gotta be free.” So, I told that man… “Get the hell away from me.” I want my life I want my life I want my life Don’t need no tragedy
*** This is an unspoken lyric. It’s part of the original poem, included here for context.
David Bowie already captured the ideal, studio sound for “Space Oddity”. My version is quite different.
His original recording has the slick, studio mixing of the vocals and the instruments. The original gives all of the cool, background sound effects that give the impression of space travel. Bowie’s “Space Oddity“ is arguably a masterpiece.
Any attempt to re-create that would be an exercise in vanity, and one which is bound to end in failure and disappointment.
If it did somehow succeed, it would still be nothing more than a staid rehash of something that was already done and done incredibly well. So, I went the opposite way with this.
I think it’s safe to say that astronauts don’t get to take their guitars (if they have them) on space flights. But if they did… that’s what I wanted this to sound like.
I wanted to give the auditory impression of a lonely space traveler, Sitting inside a little capsule, out there, in the unknown. Therefore, The audio is nothing more than a guitar and vocal track.
It’s mixed in such a way as to sound small, like it’s being played from inside the rocket. It’s supposed to sound like it’s being transmitted on a frequency that the space traveler isn’t the least bit certain will ever be heard.
Much like the plaque that American astronauts placed on the Moon, all those years ago, it’s a statement to some thing, anything, that may be out there. It’s an isolated signal, announcing “I am here”, even if no one else ever knows that I was here. It’s the tree falling in the woods, with no one around to hear it.
The video attempts to capture what I can only imagine are the two predominant emotions astronauts must feel. One is the giddy, childlike exhilaration of exploring uncharted territory… “We’re going into space! We’re going to the Moon!”
The other is the dread, mortal fear of something going horribly, horribly wrong. When things go wrong in space, it’s no small matter. Errors in space often result in immediate, violent death.
Perhaps even worse, is the possibility of becoming stranded. It’s the fear of being all alone, with no possibility of rescue. It’s the real and present danger of being doomed to endless wandering, sitting and waiting to run out of oxygen, to run out of food and water… waiting to run out of hope.
I hope that you enjoy watching and listening to this as much as I enjoyed making it for you. If Mr. Bowie happens to be listening, on any frequency, then I sincerely hope that he enjoys it, as well. It’s also fitting that today, NASA set a new record for space exploration, with their helicopter on Mars.
My grateful thanks go to the following people, for providing the images that I used to (hopefully) convey these ideas. The musical performance will likely fall short of even the sparsest expectations. Yet, I believe that the visual imagery is more than enough to make it worth the four and a half minutes of your time. This is a credit which goes entirely to the photographers and videographers. The honor is all theirs.
This song is a Pink Floyd song that we did. This one isn’t very well known, except by the most hardcore Floyd connoisseurs. The tune is from an album entitled More, which was the soundtrack to an even more obscure movie by the same name.
Recorded live by Magus & The Plastic Infinity, at a club in Wilmington, NC.
Trent Boswell – guitar, vocals
Skip Eames – drums
David Fleet – bass
Lyrics
Come on, my friends, let’s make for the hills They say there’s gold but I’m looking for thrills You can get your hands on whatever we find, Because I’m only coming along for the ride
Well, you go your way, I’ll go mine I don’t care if we get there on time Everybody’s searching for something, they say I’ll get my kicks on the way
Over the mountains, across the sea Who knows what will be waiting for me? I could sail forever to strange sounding names Faces of people and places don’t change
All I have to do is just close my eyes To see the seagulls wheeling In those far distant skies All I want to tell you, all I want to say Is count me in on the journey, Don’t expect me to stay
Music and lyrics written by Pink Floyd (Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright). All rights to the song belong to someone else, someone really, really rich.
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Kevin Trent Boswell 