Song "Fare Thee Well, Contradiction"

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Fare Thee Well Contradiction

by the late Philip Wesley Dayton, of JohnPhilBert fame.
As inspired by John, Phil and Bert
Sung to the tune of "Fare Thee Well, Eniskillen" (March Tempo)

[solo voice on the verses, all voices on the chorus, was how we performed it back in the day]

Fare the well, Eniskillen, fare thee well for a while,
and all around the borders of Erin's green isle.
And when the war is over we'll return in full bloom,
and you'l all welcome home your Eniskillen Dragoons.

Oh, the Human Forms were Ready at the Dawning of the Day;
From a Critical Existence He was Marching Us Away.
We got Into Contradiction When We Reached the Vital plane,
and Anyone who Met us, Might have Thought We Were Insane!

Chorus:

Fare thee Well, Contradiction, Fare thee Well For a While.
You can Lose your Ego With a Scream, Or a Smile ... and
When the Suffering's Over And ourEgo's are Gone, We'll be
Known In the Mortal World as paramam padam.
paramam, padam; paramam, padam;
paramam, padam; paramam, padam.

["Paramam Padam" is a Sanskrit expression (translated by the final line of the song), and is chanted, not sung, the last four times here in a monotone (on the tonic of the tune), 8 beats per line in tempo; strongly on the first paramam padam, softer as you go, just a whisper at the last padam.]

(Cho)

We Fought like Hell for Freedom,But we Never Seemed to Win.
We were Tempted and Tormented by the Seven Deadly Sins,
With Ego's Dying Everywhere Amidst the Battle Throng,
and As We Surrendered We Began to Hear this Song.

(Cho)

Oh, Heaven is a Gallant Place, Where the Love and Truth flow Free;
There's Goddesses, and Babies there to dandle on your knee.
And almost every Evening you can Hear the Heavens Ring,
As Every Mental Being Opens Up His Heart to Sing:

(Cho)

Oh, Now the Battle's Over and for Home we Have Set Sail.
Our Flag Above the Lofty Ship is Fluttering in the gale.
When I return to Earth again I'd like to be a King,
But If I Lose my Heart or Mind, I'll Just begin to Sing:

(Cho)

[music ends here; after a breath, the final line is spoken, not sung, by the solo voice, clearly and at a slower feeling]

"The Supreme Status, of Mental Being"

* * * *

This is likely the place on the tape where Phil and Bert inserted the "Station Break":

"This is your West Coast radio station, WERU."
"And, from the East Coast, KIMU."

We recorded this song back in the middle to late 1970's, IIRC, and issued a limited edition on a cassette-album entitled "JohnPhilbert Sings Songs I Almost Remember. I played whistle or banjo and doubled on 12-string, Phil played 12-string and doubled on banjo, and Bert played the six-string guitar.

Reviews of the album, as printed on the album cover:

"I didn't hear it" -- Baithe O'Venne, music critic, radio station KIMU.
"He's a good boy" -- JohnPhilBert's mother "Ma"
"I did it for the money" -- JohnPhilBert

I gave away my original, first-run personal copy to some sailors from the British Royal Navy during Fleet Week in SF back in those days, so hopefully it's been "pirated"since then! :^)

Who knows? Maybe JohnPhilBert is now famous in the Irish scene in the former USSR!

Regards, Johnpipe