(c) 2010 by Lewis D'Aubin
What A Friend We Have in Cthulhu mp3
Oh what a friend we have in Cthulhu
He cares about us all equally
If you see him you'll go blind
If you don't you'll lose your mind
Then rip your eyes out so you cannot see
I was feeling down and dejected
And every day felt more like a curse
Then I thought about the horror
That sleeps deep beneath the waters
And remembered it could get much worse
Oh what a friend we have in Cthulhu
He cares about us all equally
If you see him you'll go blind
If you don't you'll lose your mind
And you'll rip your eyes out so you cannot see
So just how big a friend is Cthulhu?
He's unlike any friend you've ever known
Though he's bigger than a house, he's as quiet as a mouse
Till he comes the rip the flesh right from your bones
Oh what a friend we have in Cthulhu
He cares about us all equally
If you see him you'll go blind
If you don't you'll lose your mind
And you'll rip your eyes out so you cannot see
Now deep within his house at R'lyeh
Dead Cthulhu dreams while waiting for the hour
When he'll rise out of the brine, and come forth to crush your spine
As he shambles forth to show the world his pow'r
Now people, everybody testify before Cthulhu!
girl: I just broke up with my cheating slimeball husband, and I'm waiting for Cthulhu to come back and fix him and his lousy, no good...
guy: Well, actually I didn't used to be able to walk. But, now I can... RUN!!!!
He'll fix all of your problems in a heartbeat
Even if your life's a total mess
Both your mortgage and divorce
Will be washed away of course
With whatever you still owe the IRS
So if you can make friends with Cthulhu
He's the antithesis of all life (he thinks we're scum)
If you see him you'll go deaf
Right before you lose your breath
And cut your ears off with a carving knife
Oh what a friend we have in Cthulhu
He cares about us all equally (no not at all)
If you see him you'll go blind
If you don't you'll lose your mind
And you'll gouge your eyes out so you cannot
Tear your eyes out so you cannot
Rip your eyes out so you cannot see
This was one of those songs that I woke up with on a bright Sunday morning, and managed to stagger over to a microphone and sing before falling back to sleep. That night I jotted down some keyboard parts and a rough demo, and by the next night at rehearsal, I was able to preview it to the band. At this point I had only a chorus and a verse, but knew with a subject like this the rest of the song wouldn't be that hard to write.
Or would it? Cthulhu mythos is well loved but sketchy. After all, the whole basis of it is dread of the unknown - the less said about Cthulhu, the more foreboding, right? Beyond some obscure references that would make Lovecraft afficionadoes smile, I really had little more than a catchy title.
A couple months later, at Ancient City Con in Jacksonville FL, I started thinking about the song again - what was it REALLY about? For that matter, what sort of person would join a doomsday cult anyway? That's when it hit me - the whole theme of the song really hinged on what Cthulhu would do for YOU if you were being recruited into the secret society of his worshippers! Most of those folks were probably in bad financial shape, victims of bad marriages and down on their luck enough to WANT a giant sea creature to shamble out of his deathless undersea sleep and wipe out all life on earth. (The ongoing oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico added to the looming sense of dread.) Sure, they could have joined the latest apocalyptic cult-of-the-month, but THEY were priviledged to be on the Cthulhu team! What would this give them once they had accomplished their goal? Very little more than the satisfaction of ruining all life on Earth, but at least they could say they were on the winning side...
On returning home I quickly jotted down the remainder of the song, and lo, it was done!
The greatest sonic requirement this song had was getting the gospel organ feel JUST RIGHT, and via our C.O.G.-Force Reserve member Chris Lenox, I was able to secure the contributions of keyboardist (from Rik Slave & the Phantoms) Ben Caston. Ben put down his part with his Nord Lead II and after a bit of tweaking it proved to be just the tonic this song needed.
A choir session led by Beth Patterson, a trumpet session with Farrar Hudkins, and an emailed-in guest appearance by Rev. Ivan Stang (of the Subgenius) were the icing on this sickly sweet cake!
Credits
Drums..................drumbot
Organ..................Ben Caston
Guitars................Ed Merilh
Lead vocals............Ed Merilh, Tiffany Pollack, Jim Fairchild & Lewis D'Aubin
Bass...................Jim Fairchild
Trumpet................Farrar Hudkins
Backing vocals.........Beth Patterson, Ed Merilh, Jeannine Flores
Special guest vocals...Luke Ski, Sara Trice, and the Rev. Ivan Stang
Recorded and mixed Summer 2010 at C.O.G. Secret Lab, New Orleans LA