Silly Minds (Theatrical Version) 
Written and performed by Cory Capron, January, 24, 2003

Two chairs are placed in the center of the stage. A figure enters and sits in 
one of the chairs. He begins to talk introducing a song and dedicating it to 
Son House. The song is accompanied only by the stomping of his foot and a 
light clapping/slapping of his hands.

 
Loretta you and me make two
That's all they think that we can do
Two silly minds, leaning on the no parking signs
But I think they are wrong about us
When they go around asking what is all the fuss
About two silly minds, with no patience for the check in lines

Your fingers are stems with cherry-rose buds
And mine are just cut off butcher's stubs
Four silly hands, banging on a coffin-black grand
I'll play the black keys if you'll play the white
You know you ain't bad looking when the lightings right
Four silly hands, crushing all the empty soda pop cans

(Bridge)
Two silly minds and four silly hands
Building them castles in the sandy lands
Where the gulls sore high and the clouds aren't plotting plans...
Well if you take the high road I'll take the low
Baby when I love you I'm gonna love you slow
Then you take the low road and I'll take the high
I ain't shooting for the roof baby I'm blowing out the sky... 

He holds the last note for a second and then abruptly stops in a gasp. He 
looks around at the audience like he had not really realized they were there 
then at the empty seat next to him. He looks back at the audience, closes his 
eyes and begins to sing again with a slower, but increasing, tempo of stomps.

Well I've seen a man lose his wooden teeth
Stranded all alone on a gilded reef
Watching as the tide so slowly came in
Passing over his ankles and over his shins
And he just stood there a-knowing that he couldn't swim
As the water so slowly rose over his brim
He saw a ship leave the port going out to sea
But nobody was sending out a ship for he...
And I see that man in mirror, sometimes looking at me
I said I see that man in the mirror, sometimes looking at me...

The song appears to end. He then gets everybody to stomp along increasing the 
tempo into a frenzy, climaxing in a return to the original tempo.

Loretta you and me made two
That's all they thank that we can do
Two silly minds, just splitting from the traffic fines
Now my sheets are red and my pillows blue
With a tear face where I've just been a-crying for you
Baby one silly mind's, too silly for the jukebox dimes

Yeah these days one silly mind's, too silly for the jukebox dimes...

"Silly Minds (Theatrical Version)" IS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AND MAY NOT BE DOWNLOADED, TRANSMITTED, PRINTED OR PERFORMED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR

WRITER'S NOTES:
I started to write the song Silly Minds as a kind of tribute to the White Stripes, commenting on how Jack needs Meg to keep going despite the sometimes harsh criticisms the band gets for their style. As the song went along a found it was getting too depressing and loosely based to really be a song about them. Still after I scraped that idea and let it go where it wanted, many ghosts of the original concept remained. It seems kind of like a double exposure to me of two or even three ideas now.

There are at least two other complete versions of this song. One is basically the same lyrically but gets from one place to another in more of a Beatles "A Day in the Life" fashion with instruments instead of physical acting. The other version (also intended for instruments) is my most personally satisfying attempt to date at Folk-Punk and trades in the man on the reef segment for an old school style punk chant chorus and another two stanzas.

"Silly Minds (Theatrical Version)" debuted January 24, 2003, performed by Cory Capron.

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