The Sunday Song: The Coming (Gloria)

A really long time ago now I wrote a song that was sort of about the Rapture. Specifically, it was a song that wondered, what if the Rapture happened, and because the world generally sucked, almost nobody actually got taken up? I decided to write a song about the one town that was actually good enough to get saved. I wanted the lyric to have an urban legend feel — like, how did anyone ever hear this even happened if the whole town vanished? (That’s why it comes from “a friend of a friend.”) And what if it was aliens, instead — how do we know it was really the Rapture, and not something else? The song was an acoustic piece, lots of floaty suspended chords and fingerpicking, very mellow vibe.

Another really long time ago, but not as long — maybe eight or nine years — we had a spare bedroom where Todd McKimmey & I would do recording. And one of the tunes that Todd decided that we should record was this one. Naturally, Todd being Todd, he wanted to put drums and electric guitars on it. I think it was one of the first times I ever played to a drum machine, actually (which means I wasn’t very good at it!).

Well, I found that recording lurking on my hard drive this morning. Alas, Todd was unable to scare up a choir for the chorus, so there’s a point where there’s nothing but clapping and the voice. That’s him on bass and electric, plus the drum machine programming of course.

We went on to do some rather odd and interesting co-writes, usually with him supplying the heavy rock & me doing lyrics and melody. I have those lurking on my hard drive too.

The Coming (Gloria)

It happened in the tiny town of Springfield
A town best described by saying small
I heard about it from a friend of friend
Whose cousin was one of those that heard the call
Yeah, she was there when the light came down
And snatched them all

The sky opened up and light showered down
Made gutters shine and people smile all around
Heads poked out of windows hearing the breeze
All the city birds alighted on the street
Everything was silent then they heard a girl
Start to sing

Glory glory glory gloria

And there came a man walking in the wake of her song
Had a face like open fields and a robe of gold
People gathered round to follow him
The spirit was carnival and celebration
He floated six inches above the ground
All the while singing

Glory glory glory gloria

The town disappeared right off the map they say
The magic man hasn’t reappeared to this very day
It’s kinda disappointing to know I wasn’t there
It had me shouting, LIFE ISN’T FAIR!
But I knew that anyway, or at least I should’ve
Still the whole thing makes me scared

The fact that it happened in the tiny town of Springfield
Population seven thousand four hundred and three
Well, it doesn’t speak to well for the rest of the world
It’s damn reassuring though it makes me cry
The fact that it happened at all is reason enough
To sing to the sky

Glory glory glory gloria