Sophie

“Sophie” is an epic ballad Inspired by Günter Grass’ great novel “The Flounder.” This passage exists nested in my opera: Flounder in an Arabian Nights-type story-within-a-story-within-a-story segment of the Second Act. Within this story Sophie’s beau, Fritz, inspired by news of the French Revolution, fought for the emancipation of Poland. This in turn fed the ethos of the French Revolution itself. Note the shredding progressive-rock harmonica around 1:40.

Sophie Lyrics
Sophie sold flounders
smelts
and lampreys
at Hawkers Gate
with her mother
She was fourteen
and she was in love
with a
seventeen-year-old high school student
She was also
wild
about all things revolutionary
She had known Fritz
since they were children
In Sophie’s eyes
Fritz was a proclamation of freedom
If not freedom itself–
in gangling freckle-faced form
Hopelessly as the boy stuttered
at the family board
he read
revolutionary proclamations
with loud abandon
to his little group of conspirators
and cited Danton or Marat
with perfect fluency
Sophie’s presence
oiled his vocal chords
Freedom must be won by violence!
On April seventeenth
seventeen-ninety-seven
Fritz and his co-conspirators were arrested
It was market day.
Sophie was selling smelts
Fritz and the others
were committed to life imprisonment
CHORUS:
And Sophie remained a virgin
for all those years
Waiting…
Waiting…
Waiting for her Fritz
Sophie
liked to sing.
That may have helped predisposed her
in favor of the revolution
which gave birth
to so many new songs.
And because she was a cook
for Pastor Blech
While Fritz stayed and stayed
in the fortress.
She kept faith with the revolution and it’s songs
which became kitchen songs
Putrid aristocrats
pickled sprats
The Republic
princes in aspic
egalite´
mushroom fricasse´
Triumphant cannonade!
Pepper marinade!
Napoleon
Revolution
And as she sang
she plotted revenge
Mushroom soup in the harvest moon
Napoleon will spring you soon
Orange agaric
we mince
Head and neck has many a prince
Kings are trembling
Cannons are booming
Soon dear Fritz
we’ll go mushrooming
I saw an imperial mushroom today
Let freedom come
La Liberte´
And so with a delicious meal she served to Fritz’s captors
Sophie dished out justice
by way of a liberal portion of poison mushrooms
It was a morose man
who returned home
in wooden shoes bringing a bad cough with him
after thirty-eight years
He had kept his stutter
Fritz could longer be fired with enthusiasm
for anything except pot roast and red cabbage
But with Sophie to care for him
he recovered his strength
The two of them could often be seen
in the early fall
leaving their cottage
with baskets over their arms
to gather mushrooms
The neighborhood children
shouted mocking jingles
after the mushroom woman
and her wood goblin
Wasn’t it strange
if not suspicious
that the two old people
brought specimens of the useless
fly agaric mushroom
home with them
along with the edible varieties?

Credits
from Broken Glass Promenade, track released 15 June 2014

Track Credits
Composed and Produced by The StiKman
Lyrics inspired by The Flounder By Günter Grass.
Engineered by The StiKman
Mixed by The StiKman

The StiKman, Stacey Barton, Lisa Robertson, JoJo Razor, Emma Rosenthal, and Rebecca Seeman: Vocals
The StiKman: Lead Vocals, Lead Harmonica, Flute, Percussion, and sound design
David Immerglück: Guitar
That One Guy: Bass Guitar, Orchestral Double Bass, other low bowed things
Jim Bogois: Trap Drums
JoJo Razor: Percussion

Dimmerswitch wails! David Immerglück’s guitar playing on Sophie is one of my favorite guitar parts EVER!

JoJo, our mystical medium, invokes Sophie.