Song #12: Parisian Pearl (1987)

In 1985, I went to my ten year high school reunion and "met" my future wife, Sara. 

We were in school together from the first grade, but had never dated. She was a straight-laced, straight A student, and I was a hippie musician, so our paths only occasionally crossed through the years.

At the reunion she told me she had just returned from Paris, France, where she had been living and working for the past five years. This was not the Sara I remembered from high school, and I was immediately smitten.

Unfortunately, I was not the greatest catch. Years of self-imposed studio hermitage, combined with burgeoning self-destructive behaviors, had rendered me a shell of my former self.

Sara was wise to steer clear of my advances.

Additionally, Skyline Recording was in escrow on a pending sale,  and I was contemplating a move to London to pursue my rock-star dreams.

When the sale of the studio fell through at the last minute, I hit rock-bottom.

Slowly, I began the process of pulling myself out the pit of the life I had created.

(INSERT LONG  BOB DYLAN STORY HERE)

Eventually, Sara agreed to date me, and in 1987, she agreed to become my wife.
I am very lucky to have found a real pearl.

When I asked Teddy for his reflections on his lyrics for this song he said, "I think it was a combo of some young lady and Rocky Raccoon".

From my perspective, many of Teddy's lyrics have a beautiful cinematic Shakespearean quality about them. Throw in some unrequited love, some stalking, Jimmie Wood's evocative soulful harmonica, and Debra Dobkin's haunting chorus vocals, and you've got a full movie in just four and a half minutes. 

Parisian Pearl

It's between you and me and a rival

It's way beyond the point of survival

Let the pendulum swing

Armed with hope a coat and a bible

I'm playing kick the can in a minefield

Let the pendulum swing

I have been chasing around the world

Looking to find my Parisian pearl

You can have two for only

You can have two for only

In the middle of Van Gogh's wheat field

You can hear the creak of the windmill

Let the pendulum swing

Qu'est ce que je peux faire?
Que veux-tu?* 

What can I say what can I do

Oh let the pendulum swing

I have been chasing around the world

Looking to find my Parisian pearl

You can have two for only

You can have two for only

I have asked princes and kings and earls

Has anyone seen my Parisian pearl

You can have two for only

You can have two for only

The clouds have written the words in verse

Telling me where you'll be

Setting the trail for better or worse

Through the streets of fair Par-ee

Back on sand I wait as the sea swirls

Deciphering clues as the mystery unfurls

Let the pendulum swing

*translation courtesy of Sara

From the web: The pearl imitation business can trace its beginning back to the 17th century. Parisian bead maker, Jaquin, is believed to be the first person to invent the faux pearl technique. Early pearl imitations involved coating the inside of blown glass spheres with a mixture of ground fish scales and varnish, then filling them with wax. Paris remained the major producer of these types of pearls until the 19th century. 

Britt Bacon: vocals, piano, synth

Alan Morse: guitars, bg vocals

?: bass

Teddy Zambetti: drums, bg vocals

Jimmie Wood: harmonica

Debra Dobkin: percussion, bg vocals

Written by Britt Bacon and Teddy Zambetti

© 1987

Source: 1/4" stereo analogue tape 30ips
(To be remixed at a later date)