I wrote this song on the way home from Confusion. (That's two years in a row now. One more time will make it a Sacred Tradition^TM.) The tune is not quite fixed in place yet, which is one of the hazards of writing without guitar in hand, but I bought a steno book at my first stop to get something to drink, so I was able to compose a verse, find an exit, write it down, get back on the highway, and do it again. It only slowed the drive down a little. :)

I got the germ of the idea for this during s00j's concert at Confusion. It was another one of those "Here's the picture. How the heck did he get in this mess?" songs.

Anyway, although the tune is still in flux, the lyrics are stable, and since that's all you can see right now...

Words and Music: Bill Roper
Copyright 2010

Tornado

A simple experiment,
No one knew what it meant,
Building a link between man and machine.
Direct neural interface,
Gold wiring put in place,
The software’s a cinch and the protocol’s clean.
This blazing search engine is at your command
Made safe by the dead man’s switch held in your hand,
A relay so simple on which to depend –
Just let go your grip and the contact will end.

See it all, hear it all, words in a whirl,
Watching the wind as the patterns unfurl.
Lost in the tornado and hoping to find
The secret of naming,
A method of taming,
A chance of reclaiming
Control of your mind.

The words coming faster.
Now slow down, you bastard,
They’re dancing and swirling adrift on the wind.
And what does that paper say?
“Product of Paraguay?”
Toss it away and it’s starting to spin.
The wind’s just a metaphor made by your mind
Bearing the data you’re hoping to find.
The dark clouds have gathered, the funnel drops down.
The tornado’s upon you, you’re lost in the sound.

See it all, hear it all, words in a whirl,
Watching the wind as the patterns unfurl.
Lost in the tornado and hoping to find
The secret of naming,
A method of taming,
A chance of reclaiming
Control of your mind.

The roar of the wind and the sting of the rain,
You’re drowning in data and going insane.
You’re firing synapses to let the switch go,
But your mind is too quick and your body too slow.

See it all, hear it all, words in a whirl,
Watching the wind as the patterns unfurl.
Lost in the tornado and hoping to find
The secret of naming,
A method of taming,
A chance of reclaiming
Control of your mind.

The switch will release
And be bringing you peace
In a second or less, but subjectively years.
There’s just one bad actor
And you’re the prime factor.
It’s a simple equation – the sum of your fears.
The data will do what your metaphor did
As Dorothy emerges down deep in your id.
You’re now leaving Kansas to digitally roam
And the wicked witch screams that you’ll never go home.

See it all, hear it all, words in a whirl,
Watching the wind as the patterns unfurl.
Lost in the tornado and hoping to find
The secret of naming,
A method of taming,
A chance of reclaiming
Control of your mind.

See it all, hear it all, words in a whirl,
Watching the wind as the patterns unfurl.
Lost in the tornado and hoping to find
The secret of naming,
A method of taming,
Of somehow reframing
And winning at gaming
A chance of reclaiming
Control of your mind.