From the recording The Acoustic EP
"Sins of the Father" is a mostly a-capella rumination of the cruelty of holding people in this life to ransom and thrall for the promise of something better (and eternal) in the hereafter.
Musically, it was inspired by J.S. Bach's fugues. After reading Laura Tonbridge's biography of Beethoven ("Beethoven in Nine Parts"), in which Tonbridge asserts Bach's influence on Beethoven, especially in counterpoint, I became interested in counterpoint. This song is the result, whereby in the choruses, I attempt to create harmonic structure by having four melodies (bass; baritone; tenor; alto) intertwine. I elected to make the song mostly a-capella to let the voices be the harminic structure. The only exception to this is the use of some percussion and the bass throughout.
Lyrics
Sins of the Father
Oh, life is short
But three score years and ten, and
Then you die and
You go to heaven
Where you’ll get your just reward
For having been such a very good boy, yeah!
That is how the book unfolds
How the story goes
Apparently, it’s all your own fault
‘Cos
(Alto Voice)
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin
(Tenor Voice)
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin, sin
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin, sin
Eternity is an absolute age
You can wait forever for a little shade
In hell or hades there ain’t no forgiveness
For innocent girls who just lost their way in the world
That is what scripture says
What the stain glass paints
And anyway, it’s all your own fault
‘Cos
(Bass Voice)
The sins
The sins
The sins of the father and son
The sins
The sins
The sins of the father and son
(Alto Voice)
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin
(Tenor Voice)
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin, sin
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin, sin
Fictions as explanation
Plug the gap
Between fact and fiction
Nowadays, no longer need
Narratives of make believe
Like
(Baritone Voice)
Oh sinner!
Oh sinner!
(Bass Voice)
The sins
The sins
The sins of the father and son
The sins
The sins
The sins of the father and son
(Alto Voice)
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin
(Soprano Voice)
Sins of the father
Sins of father and son
Sins
Sins of the father
Sins of father and son
(Tenor Voice)
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin, sin
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin, sin
(Baritone Voice)
Oh sinner!
Oh sinner!
(Bass Voice)
The sins
The sins
The sins of the father and son
The sins
The sins
The sins of the father and son
(Alto Voice)
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin
(Soprano Voice)
Sins of the father
Sins of father and son
Sins
Sins of the father
Sins of father and son
(Tenor Voice)
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin, sin
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sins of the father
Sin, sin, sin, sin