Lyrics Annotated
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CrackingTheSimonCode Lyrics Annotated |
Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean |
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| Opens with 8 bars of multiple guitars, key of G. | |
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Once upon a time there was an ocean. But now it's a mountain range. Something unstoppable set into motion. Nothing is different, but everything's changed.
| Guitar continues, alternating C and G. |
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It's a dead end job, And you get tired of sittin'. And it's like a nicotine habit You're always thinking about quittin'. I think about quittin' every day of the week. When I look out my window it's brown and it's bleak.
Outta here. | Electronics, drums and bass start this section. Still G. |
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And when will I cash in my lottery ticket, And bury my past with my burdens and strife? I want to shake every limb in the garden of Eden, And make every lover the love of my life.
| More melodic, guitar in background*, no electronics. |
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I figure that once upon a time I was an ocean. But now I'm a mountain range. Something unstoppable set into motion. Nothing is different, but everything's changed.
| Note that the lyrics change to personalizing this bit of prehistory. |
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Found a room in the heart of the city, Down by the bridge. Hot plate and TV And beer in the fridge. But I'm easy, I'm open—that's my gift. I can flow with the traffic, I can drift with the drift. Home again? Naw, never going home again. Think about home again? I never think about home.
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But then comes a letter from home, The handwriting's fragile and strange. | New melody for the first two lines. Electronics added in background. |
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Something unstoppable set into motion. Nothing is different but everything's changed.
| Background electronics. |
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The light through the stained glass was cobalt and red. And the frayed cuffs and collars were mended by haloes of golden thread. The choir sang, "Once Upon a Time There Was An Ocean." And all the old hymns and family names came fluttering down As leaves of emotion.
| Bass sounding heartbeats in background. Electronics very quiet. |
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As nothing is different, but everything's changed.
| Ends with elecronics fade. |
*Annotator's notes: There's no way to be sure that guitar-like sounds aren't coming from electronics, nor that electronic sounds aren't being made with a guitar. Naming the instrument "guitar" throughout these notes should be read as "sounds like a guitar."
This track has two chords, C and G. ("Sure Don't Feel Like Love" had just one: G.) In "Another Galaxy" Simon goes from D# to G#/D# to Gm in four beats.
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