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Before the First Slice (Wedding for the Disenchanted)

from SHIFTINGEARS by Rich Arithmetic

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about

When my pal Ray Carmen told me he had some guitar chords that he'd been unsuccessful in using to write a new song, I told him to give them to me. But in playing them on my guitar, I was similarly unsuccessful. But the chords were too interesting to abandon, and when I started fleshing them out further on the piano, suddenly, a song began to write itself -- but not the standard kind of fare that I usually write. The song that became "Before the First Slice (Wedding for the Disenchanted)," had a melancholy, baroque air to it. And rather than recording it using a band arrangement with guitars & drums," it felt more appropriate to simply add a string arrangement to my piano and vocals. (Thank goodness that I live with May May, who is a wonderfully gifted musician who plays cello!) I cannot say where the lyrics came from -- they're not biographical -- but they just seemed to fit the air of melancholy.

lyrics

BEFORE THE FIRST SLICE
(Wedding for the Disenchanted)
by Richard Horton © Hortones
and Ray Carmen © Radio Friendly

Bride in white lace awaits arrival of her groom to take his place
Black tails and tie—his guise as he awaits to see a smile on her face

They carry desires in their hearts, they seem inspiring
But now their cravings are past dated
Post-dated
They’re tired

They waltz ‘cross the floor, abhorring what comes next between them
(They) head for the door
Holds on to her hand, a bland peace offering in this lover’s dance

They carry desires in their hearts about acquiring
But now their ambitions seem past dated
Post-dated
They’re tired

This day they’d dreamed of for so long
Not sure just when it went so wrong
Why had their dreams turned out so misarranged
Was it his fault, or she who’d changed?

Start their new lives with knives to cut the ties that bind them,
Husband and wife
Hold out their hands, demand to see what’s in the other’s
Before they strike

They’d carried desires in their hearts about squiring
But now their desires are past dated
Post-dated
They’re tired

credits

from SHIFTINGEARS, released January 29, 2021
Produced by Richard Horton & James Nicholson
Piano, vocals, and string arrangement: RICH ARITHMETIC
Cellos: MAY MAY GONG

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Rich Arithmetic Bellingham, Washington

Rich Arithmetic serves up power pop, psych-pop, and folk-meets-surf-and-sand harmonies that "eliminate the gaps between the ‘60s, ‘80s and the 2020's" - Steve Stav, stevestav.com

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