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The King of Paperclips (a petty tyrant sings the blues)

from The Best of​.​.​.​.​.​.​.​World Music by Walter Ehresman

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--from the Snipe Hunt album "I Saw the Future (But the Damn Train Hit Me Just the Same)" (2002).

According to Ehresman, "Musically, this song was inspired by Jamaican reggae and dancehall, with a progressive/bluegrass intro and outro interspersed with Japanese taiko vocalizations. Lyrically it's about how some people get a small amount of power and then abuse it utterly."

Purchase download of whole album here: walterehresman.bandcamp.com/album/i-saw-the-future-but-the-damn-train-hit-me-just-the-same

See video here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhpUJVkr1Lc

lyrics

The King of Paperclips
(© 2000: lyrics--Walter Ehresman; music--Ehresman/Ramirez)

Since I steppin’ onto the ground, I and I know
myself wasn’t cuttin’ it;
Gotta walk about 10 feet tall--only way I know
that everybody seein’ it.
Don’t be lookin’ at my dominion--quiver in your boots all
ye who will enter here;
I’m the master of my domain (except, if you must know, in the
night where no one can hear).

[chorus]
All hail the king of paperclips,
the ruler of one small thing;
All good people must pass through here
and endure the pain he brings.

I can’t go behind your closed doors--I’ll never see the
things that go on in there;
Never let me into your circles--just because I suck don’t
mean that this deal is fair.
Every time I see my reflection, there’s a moment where
I know just what I see.
Then the feeling fades into anger, and I spit on
everything that comes near to me.

[chorus]

[break--dancehall toasting]
I hear him comin’ in a rub-a-dub style,
with the heart of a chicken and the tone of a child;
And he walks upon the Earth like a gerbil gone wild,
and he climbs up on his high-chair as the people passin’ by;
And he makes a big ripple in the puddle in the spoon,
while the players on the gameboard sing a more important tune,
and he’s only got a moment for to piss on your shoe,
and the highlight of his kingdom ain’t a thing to me and you.
Oh, no.

I’m a badger when you step in my foxhole--you will not step
away unscathed;
The stuff I got may not mean much to you, but if you want it, oh
man, well you’re gonna pay.
They say power will corrupt completely--and I know that the
saying is true;
I may never touch things of substance....but I can take a little
piece of you.

credits

from The Best of​.​.​.​.​.​.​.​World Music, released March 1, 2017
Snipe Hunt--Walter Ehresman: dirty electric guitar, 6-string banjo, keyboards, synth bass, electronic percussion pads, background vocals, toasting, sequencing, drum machine programming; Vic Ramirez: lead vocals, clean electric guitar.

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Walter Ehresman San Miguel De Allende, Mexico

Called "the quintessential Austin DIY artist" by famed local disc jockey Charlie Martin , Walter Ehresman was an eccentric presence in the Austin music scene from the '80s until his 2015 move to Mexico. A prolific songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and recording artist...and a restless musical spirit, always looking for something new, expressed with fearlessly honest, socially-conscious lyrics. ... more

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