The Professor

PS Perkins: Guitars, bass, lyre, vocals Ron Thomas: Autoharps, Drums Production notes: --------------------------------------------- Very early on we wanted to use autoharps on this song to create a sort of swirling backdrop, reminiscent of the harps in Indian/Bollywood soundtrack songs of the seventies. Right away there were challenges because the song is in B flat and is not wholly diatonic to begin with, utilizing a chord built on the augmented lydian scale in the choruses. So rather than transpose the song to a more amenable key (since the chromatic bits weren't going to work no matter what key we used) we instead re-tuned the autoharp. Moving through the strings one by one we tuned them either up or down a half step where applicable to bring them into key. Where the augmented chord hit in the choruses, we excluded those notes so that the autoharp was filling the diatonic parts of the chords and omitting the accidentals. It took us several tries to get it right. In the end we arrived at a chord progression that could be strummed on the autoharp and the modified chords could be played with existing dampers. We also tuned the lyre so that the top half of the strings included the chromatic augmented notes while the lower register of the lyre was tuned using the diatonic, so the lyre could play the melody all the way through both parts of the song. The inspiration for this song was essentially fourfold: -------------------------------------------------------- First, H.P. Lovecraft's terrifying necromancer Joseph Curwen (from "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward") who masked his true identity in order to thwart suspicion from his fellow townsfolk. He has many secrets lurking in his underground catacombs where he performs acts of necromancy most foul, extracting the "salts" of the dead in order to raise them at will and learn the secrets of ancient eldritch deities. Second, a poem by Rudyard Kipling titled "En-Dor" which was a warning against the rise of spiritualism and the cost of communion with the dead in the early 20th century. Third, the biblical Saul who traveled in disguise to visit a witch at the city of Endor in order to summon Samuel from the dead and garner advice on defeating the Philistines, but who only prophesies doom for Saul. Saul dies later the next day in the battle of Gilboa. Lastly, the story of Odysseus communing with the underworld where he enlists the help of Tiresias to have a chat with the dead and secure for himself a safe journey home. They all seek communion with the dead for one purpose: to gain knowledge which only those who have crossed over between realms might possess. Lyrics: ------------------------------------- A mask may reveal what it’s meant to conceal From those who are standing beside us Armor of pride, so we learn to abide By the monsters which hide deep inside us The monsters which lurk deep inside us Oh, how they scratch and they bite us The monsters which lurk deep inside us Only to know what the professor knows Eating black bread, wearing clothes of the dead The soil soaked in honey around us For fear if we failed, leave the ogre unveiled And it’s back in the grave where they found us Back in the grave where they found us Freed from the ties which had bound us Back in the grave where they found us Only to know what the professor knows In the catacomb vaults, we extracted the salts From cadavers to lengthen our youth Chanting the names at the edge of the flames And a mirror to show us the truth A mirror which speaks only truth See how it seeks not to soothe A mirror which speaks only truth Only to know what the professor knows In the underworld maze, in the night of no days Concocting the plan we’re devising Much to endure on the road to En-Dor And to snatch from Elohim arising To snatch from Elohim arising Snatch from Elohim arising Snatch from Elohim arising Snatch from Elohim arising Snatch from Elohim arising