The title track from my album The Could-Have-Been King.
The Could-Have-Been King
He never had a career
would go out to hunt deer
sometimes he had luck, sometimes not
Wore the skin of bear
was welcome everywhere
but preferred to live alone in his hut
A scholar who’d never gone to school
mother hadn’t raised him to be a fool
a Jack of all trades with skillful hands
but alas he couldn’t dance
So hear me sing
of the could-have-been king
the man so strong and tall
a one man rebellion
he was hung like a stallion
but he would always trip and fall
So he stumbled through life
and struggled to find
a place to call his home
And when he found his queen
they did things quite obscene
in their hut by the lake on their own
On a treadmill he’d never been seen
he was no part of the big machine
yet he built and he made and he sang and he gave
and he kept his secret safe
So hear me sing
of the could-have-been king
the man so strong and tall
a one man rebellion
he was hung like a stallion
but he would always trip and fall
or just hit a wall
But all their babys died
and the beasts in the forest were quiet
the leaves in the wind ceased their play
and what once had been crimson and gold turned grey
“no, no no, no no,” he cried
“no, this just ain’t right
“I never asked to play in your game”
and that’s when he broke and quit the fight
And with a twist of his wrist
he conjured a mist
and has never been seen again
This story turned grim
’cause he who could have been king
had become a broken man
This verse is the last
and I hear you ask:
“what was that secret he kept?”
Well, I ain’t no snitch
but that man was bewitched
and this song you shall never forget
So hear me sing
of the could-have-been king
the man so strong and tall
a one man rebellion
he was hung like a stallion
but he would always trip and fall
Leave a Reply