"Comfy Pillow"

Another song using the cut-up technique. This one contains a few references to Iowa native Arthur Russell, who came into his own as an experimental cellist, composer, and recording artist in New York City in the late 1970s-80s. Russell died of AIDS in 1992 at age 40. I didn’t know anything about him until a couple of years ago, when I read about him in Will Hermes’ book Love Goes Into Buildingson Fire. It’s a great book, all about the creative fervor in New York in the 70s and 80s. The book’s title comes from a song on Talking Heads’ first album, Talking Heads: 77.

Comfy Pillow

© 2015 Brian Hutzell

Sometimes life hands you lemons

Sometimes it hands you turds

I only sit when I have to shit

I sharpen my pencil to stab out the words

I’m lost in space with my Iowa face

You are my comfy pillow; I am your bed of nails

In this world of echo, no wonder romance fails

You are my comfy pillow; I’m your electric chair

Won’t you join me in the shower

I wear my best outfits there

I am a pawn in a game of kings and queens

Craving relief from my non-belief

Painting and poetry justify the means

I’m too busy driving to think of surviving

You are my comfy pillow; I am your bed of nails

In this world of echo, no wonder romance fails

You are my comfy pillow; I’m your electric chair

Won’t you join me in the shower

I wear my best outfits there

The frame is evolving

The canvas is gone

Answer the phone

Click click drone

If I follow my current path, where will it lead?

Dead before death

What do I need?

Bread before breath

You are my comfy pillow; I am your bed of nails

In this world of echo, no wonder romance fails

You are my comfy pillow; I’m your electric chair

Won’t you join me in the shower

I wear my best outfits there