Lyrics:- 'I'll be back some day, just the combination will have changed' - Banks
Song Choice:- Side Two of 'A Track of the Tail' already and next is the lively 'Robbery, Assault and Battery' which was mostly written by Banks. It was an attempt to capture some of the story telling magic from previous Gabriel tracks, like 'Harold the Barrel' and 'Battle of Epping Forest'. It works too, and Collins is in great form as the 'Artful Dodger' style character singing the lyrics. It was one of my real favourites and also features on the double live, 'Seconds Out' which I can remember buying on it's release date on 'Double Cassette'... Wow those were the days eh? £6.99 too...
The lyrics feel most apt today as I return to the desert in less than three weeks knowing that my combination has definitely changed - maybe not physically for the better but possibly more positively in my mental state. I've learned a lot in 12 months.
Hindsight of course is a wonderful thing and I'm sure if we returned to any time in our lives we'd do things differently and change the plot. I certainly would avoid racing my pushbike into the front of an Austin Maxi outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre taking the corner into Waterside banked over like Barry Sheene - that hurt I can tell you. (12th October, 1980 btw)... The lump on my head is a daily reminder.
Let's face it, what's done is done and are just poor reflections of ourselves - folk that have over-promised and under-delivered. Sadly very few will ever get to really ever get to see their real 'Me' and get the chance to reflect in their own glory. Stepping on those pavement cracks takes courage, and playing safe is never the best way of playing the cards on the table I've found. It's worth having a go as it's never too late.
It's just a shame not a Robbery, Assault or Battery if you don't try. It's just a crime that comes without sentence or fine you just have to use the combination you already know? Or do you need help unlocking the chains?
Rory Coleman - 986 Marathons - 241 Ultras - 13 Marathon des Sables
9 Guinness World Records - 8,474 Days' Alcohol Free
No comments:
Post a Comment