Skinny Buddha – lyrics by Kim Mitchell

I think that everyone has their own theme song, whether they know it or not.  Sometimes, you have to point it out to a person: “Hey – dude, did you know that you’re exactly like the guy that Cake was writing about when they penned “Short Skirt and Long Jacket”? – or something like “wow, your whole recent breakup scene was just like Tracy Chapmans’ “Give Me One Reason”?

I was reviewing and copying a huge quantity of music from the past onto an external drive recently – shuffling some to my MP3 player – killing some – categorizing those tunes that I want to save/burn/archive… when I came across a nugget of truth – one of my own themes… and was so caught up in the moment and shocked as to how one tune really mirrors some of my past and present states that I couldn’t resist playing it multiple times – and posting the lyrics and the tune ( check out the BOX.NET widget on the sidebar – you’ll find it shared there in all its glory! ) for your edification, enjoyment and amusement.  No one outside of the GTA, Canada proper and WNY will have any idea who the hell Kim Mitchell is… and for that, I feel sad – for truly you are missing out on one of the best guitar players, singers and wordsmiths to ever grace a studio, stage or festival.  I can’t recommend him and his former bandmates in Max Webster highly enough… hell, if Geddy Lee from Rush will do a studio session with him, you know that the brother has to have some serious chops!

But back to my point for just a moment – theme songs.  I caught this tune right about the same time that the Twin Towers took their ignominious tumble – I was feeling rather low and helpless and was looking for a bright spot in an otherwise grey and depressing world – and brother Kim came through with an anthem that buoyed my boat, lifted my spirits and put me in a frame of mind where I could dance again, despite all of the events that were threatening to drag me and my mood down, down and downer still.  It was as if the Dalai Lama (as opposed to the llama llama of YouTube fame) had gently smacked me upside my damn fool head and said: “you can’t fix it all and you can’t make it right, but as long as you try to make one moment better for just one person, you get extra karma points and a fresh battery charge for your heart”.

I may still be that leaking alkaline – and I’m sure that I feel square in a world that’s round – but for all that’s hopeful and helpful on this big, blue marble we call home – I really am your Skinny Buddha – and you know that you can count on me whenever you need a friend indeed.

Can’t say that about many people now, can ya?

Namasté 😉

.g.

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Lyrics:

I'm a loner
A leaking alkaline.
Licked my owner
Loved her but she wasn't mine.
Saved the world but you wont go far
cause you got no shoes or gasoline in your car
Do I want it?
I said it's not mine!
Like livin in Chinatown
I'm walking but falling down
Obsessed and way too needy
I feel like a skinny Buddha.
Big man with big dog frown
Way up but he can't come down
Feel square in a world that's round
I feel like a skinny Buddha
There's my gravy...
There's my gravy train gone
Slicked back comber
Jet black comb
I dropped it in her blouse
All alone in a crowded room
but there's always someone looking at your basketballs
Do I want it?
I said it's not mine!
I'm a commissar
Got on my horse
Gonna ride a bus
Gonna bust your chops if you look at me one more time.

Do I want it?

I said it's not mine!
Vagabonds and bubblegum powder
I feel like a skinny Buddha.

Bootnote: I found a great free filesharing and storage site via WP which has its own media plugin widget thingie – so I was able to provide a taste of the tune to you, gentle readers, after all! It’s a site called BOX.NET – and they have a supported widget, security and a few other neat features for both free and paying customers… and if it works half as well as they advertise, I may be a convert and advocate both. You’ll have to give me some feedback as to how well it works here as this is the initial alpha test of both the website and the widget… check out the sidebar for this song and other media – I think this might just be a better choice than the embedded WP shortcodes that I’ve been using!

— end of bootnote —