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Demon & Beast

by Stephen Leigh

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about

The opening two lines “For certain minutes at the least / that crafty demon and that loud beast” are borrowed from William Butler Yeats’ poem, “Demon and Beast.” Yeats is one my absolute favorite poets, and his poetry is a delight to me. For this one, I thought of how we can somehow manage to hold two conflicting viewpoints in our head at the same time, and yet think of both as true. So that’s what this song is talking about.

lyrics

Demon & Beast -- Stephen Leigh (DADGAD) ***
(first two lines of V1 and V3 from W.B. Yeats poem “Demon & Beast”)

V1:
For certain minutes at the least
That crafty demon and that loud beast
In the bone-slick caverns of your mind
They argue, they disagree, claim you’ve been maligned

CHORUS:
You put on your false face while I put on mine
We pretend that we’re old friends and
everything is fine, but…

V2:
Truth is elusive, it’s a breeze fingers cannot hold
Unlike that saying, truth really can’t be told
Words are flimsy vessels that the blows of life will sink
They’re here one moment and yet gone before we blink

repeat CHORUS and intro…

Refrain 1:
Someday, somewhere
Sometime, someplace
The ties will come undone and
all our masks will fall away.

V3:
For certain minutes at the least
That crafty demon and that loud beast
In the bone-slick caverns of your mind
They embrace and find that you’re aligned

BREAK 2:
Someday, somewhere
Someway, someone
will undo those ties and
all our masks will fall away.

OUTRO (repeating “masks will fall away”)

credits

released October 14, 2022
Vocals, guitars, and bass by Stephen Leigh. Drums and percussion by Devon Leigh. Mixed by Brandon Scott Coleman. Photo by Steve: Yeat's Tower in Thoor Ballylee, Ireland

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about

Stephen Leigh Cincinnati, Ohio

I've been playing music since the late 1960's (damn, I'm OLD!) in various groups in and around the Greater Cincinnati area. I'm a vocalist who plays guitar and bass (we'll skip the time I fronted a wedding band as the singer).

Gear: Eastman E10D, Eastman E20D, Eastman E6D-TC Ltd, Roscoe 5-string LG3005 bass, (fretless)

Photo: Guy Allen
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