Lyrics: H Johnson, B Llewellyn
Music: H Johnson, B Llewellyn
Played by Bob Weir with Bobby & The Midnites, Kingfish and Ratdog.
See below for background/history of this song.
Isn't it strange how princesses and kingsNotes
Can clown their capers in sawdust rings, just like
Poor people like you and me (note 1)
Will be builders for eternity
Each is given a bag of tools
Shapeless lives and a book of rules (note 2)
Each must make his life as flowing ink (note 3)
Tumbling black on a stepping stone, just like
Poor people like you and me
Will be builders for eternity
Each is given a bag of tools
Shapeless lives and a book of rules
Pow wa pow pow, pow wa pa pa pow pow
Wa pa pa pow pow, wa pow pa pow pow pow
And I say small people like you and me
Will be builders for eternity
Each is given a bag of tools
Shapeless lives and a book of rules
Look where the rain is falling from the sky (note 4)
I know the sun will be only missing for a while
And I say small people like you and me
Will be builders for eternity
Each is given a bag of tools
Shapeless lives and a book of rules
Pow wa pow pow, pow wa pa pa pow pow
Wa pa pa pow pow, wa pow pa pow pow pow
And I say small people like you and me
Will be builders for eternity
Each is given a bag of tools
Shapeless lives and a book of rules
Pow wa pow pow, pow wa pa pa pow pow
Wa pa pa pow pow, wa pow pa pow pow pow
Pow wa pow pow, pow wa pa pa pow pow
Wa pa pa pow pow, wa pow pa pow pow pow
Pow wa pow pow, pow wa pa pa pow pow
Wa pa pa pow pow, wa pow pa pow pow pow
Pow wa pow pow, pow wa pa pa pow pow
Wa pa pa pow pow, wa pow pa pow pow pow
Bob Weir Recordings | |||||
Date | Album | ||||
Studio 1981 | Bobby And The Midnites | Bobby And The Midnites | |||
Jan/Feb 1983? | Bobby And The Midnites | Bobby And The Midnites (video only) |
"That has been one of my favorite reggae cuts for the last few years. It was sort of a hit in England. I finally found the record and copped the tune, and recorded it, and then a few weeks ago--after the record had been pressed up and everything was happening--a friend of Barlow's found a compilation of verse, a collection of poems from the turn of the century to about 1930. There was in it a poem called "A Bag Of Tools" by R. L. Sharpe. The words to that wentThanks also to Beth Loring, who independently spotted the conncetion and alerted me. She found the poem in "Best Loved Poems of the American People" (selected by Hazel Felleman, Doubleday & Co., 1936). She lays it out:Isn't it strange how princesses and kings"The second verse is
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings
And common people like you and me
Will be builders for eternity
Each is given a bag of tools
A shapeless mass and a book of rules
Each must make, ere life has flown"So I'm going to sing it like that from now on. That's an example of what happens when you send a lyric through the Caribbean and back: you get some transfiguration, shall we say. It came back this way a little different. I had no idea there was the original poem. I knew there was something I liked about that song beyond the lyrics that were there, though the lyrics I got off the record were kinda neat in their own right. But someone was singing a song, and these guys heard it and got the lyrics as best they could, and then I got the lyrics as best I could off the record. They wrote a third verse, that one about "Look where the rain is falling from the sky."
A stumbling block or a stepping stone
A BAG OF TOOLSOasis included a part of Sharpe's poem in their song "Go Let It Out" on their album "Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants":
Isn't it strange that princes and kings,
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
And common people
Like you and me
Are builders for eternity?
Each is given a bag of tools,
A shapless mass,
A book of rules;
And each must make -
Ere life is flown -
A stumbling block
Or a stepping stone.
Is it any wonder why princes and kings
Are clowns that caper in their sawdust rings
And ordinary people that are like you and me
We're the keepers of their destiny