This link to this song is part of my attempt to figure out how to get my music online. This song was recorded on my Mac through the ONYX board with its cool new firewire interface we have down at The Vault. I just threw it together really quick to get it in the hands of some friends who need to hear it so they can be my backup musicians for a show I'm planning for February 25th.Okay having said that, here's the real point. If you can figure out the riddle of this tune, you get one of those big link thingies I do for winners on my blog. So it's time for:
"The Strongest Link"
The first person to figure out who "she" is in this song is the next winner of The Strongest Link. Okay now I know a few of you already have heard this song and know the answer. You are immediately disqualified. Mike, and Mike, and maybe Carl (actually I'm not sure if Carl knows the answer to this or not) you may not spoil the fun here. I'll post the lyrics in the next post if you end up needing to see them.
So click on the title, or follow this link to hear my hastily thrown together mp3 of Cum Tacent Clamant
Hints? Okay just one. Cum Tacent Clamant is Latin, but that won't help you too much.
Oh, by the way, that's me and a guy named Daffyd at a castle named Dolwyddelan in North Wales. Cool, huh?
Words to the Song:
Cum Tacent Clamant
She smiles
down on us
and the mystery of her ugliness hides beneath the dust
the years
pass by with out a care
as the suffering of humanity lies black upon her hair
it's said
stones cry out in praise to God
but her gaping jaws stay silent above the awestruck mob
I feel
secrets hid beneath her gaze
and a history that scares me not written on the page
Cum Tacent Clamant
Cum Tacent Clamant
Cum Tacent Clamant
Cum Tacent Clamant
Is her smile just a hoax?
an unblinking laugh at us poor folk?
what stories does she veil?
of champions and of rogues?
She scoffs
at princes and and at popes
and sees them all as common men parading in fine robes
they came
seekers of fortunes and of fame
they passed beneath her walls and have died all the same
Cum Tacent Clamant
Cum Tacent Clamant
Cum Tacent Clamant
Cum Tacent Clamant
Is her smile just a hoax?
an unblinking laugh at us poor folk?
what stories does she veil?
of champions and of rogues?
HINTS
You riddle guessers need some help! I guess I've got you stumped.
Hint #1 - first & second line - "she smiles down on us" She must be in a place which forces an individual to look up.
Hint #2 - the chorus is in Latin - She is found where Latin has been common, even after the language died.
Hint #3 - "unblinking laugh" - she can not close her eyes, they are always open.
Hint #4 & #5 - so far: she is up high and looking down, she is found in a place Latin has been recently spoken, she can not close her eyes - hint #4 - "the mystery of her ugliness" She has mysterious side to her. Her story, her reasons for being are unknown to us, and #5 she is ugly - I mean UGLY!
Hint #6 - "the stones cry out in praise to God, but..." She is made of stone.
Hint #7 - "her gaping jaws stay silent" - it is not unlikely to find her with gaping toothy jaws looking down at you from the high walls --> "they passed beneath her walls"
77 comments:
Ok, you know I'm a sucker for these "contests" ;) I'll take a stab at it and guess that the lady in the song, who is hardly "in" the song would be your wife.
Go ahead...say it....Shannon, You ARE the strongest link!
Dang it! You weren't speaking in regards of vocals, were you? :) Ok, scratch my guess. I will continue my search for the mystery lady. :)
Nope, I'm not talking about the vocals, because that is actually me laying down a track to give an idea to a soprano opera singer about what I am looking for in a haunting improvised background vocal behind the choir which will fill in on the chorus.
I'm talk about the lyrics - it begins "She smiles down on us..."
Lyrics please. I've searched online for them to no avail.
First of all, Pastor...stunning. Beautiful music, great beat and lyrics. I'm impressed.
My first shot in the dark is that "she" is religion.
Hey Karen,
Good attempt, but no.
I'll post the lyrics later today.
I know it sounds Catholic but, Mother Mary is the "she" in the song.
Shannon,
It sounds as if you are on the right track, but no you are not the Strongest Link - yet.
Is she History?
(I'm also a sucker for a contest, hehe)
Oh Man! I might have to give Marieke a SUPER STRONG LINK - but not for that answer.
Am I even close? It's gonna bug me until either I or someone else figures it out, ha!
By the way, the lyrics are beautiful and I like the feel of the song. I can imagine what it will sound like filled out with a choir and with the ethereal soprano line. Very nice.
Ok, this might be kinda out there, but I'm guessing the Church (not necessarily those who are truly followers of Jesus, though).
Marieke,
The Church? Blaaaaaaaaat! The sound of gettin' wrong again!
Thanks - I'm looking forward to performing it with a whole gang of people.
Cum tacent clamant - when they are silent, they shout.
Pretentious faith, perhaps? This is tough. Reading the lyrics reminds me of the description of wisdom in -- I believe it's Proverbs, where wisdom is described as a woman.
This seems to me to be an alliteration to a trait or attitude. I'll be darned if I can find the right words to describe it. Must think on the lyrics more.
People if its Brooke from Saints and Singers. Her voice comes out beautifully. Now what do I win.
Carlos
Phil,
The song is killer.
Carlos
Karen Angel,
Nice - you discovered the meaning if the Latin phrase. But not the riddle. You are not the strongest link.
Hey Carlos,
You are listening to the background voice which is me. Brooke will do that part though.
You are looking for the answer to the riddle in the lyrics to who "she is."
Thanks Carlos,
I will be dropping a few hints to the answer soon, since it seems too difficult for you weak links.
I think I got, you are refering to Wales as a country.
Sounds like the Church, time or Earth
Fantastic lyrics, great tune. I've been sitting here playing my Dobro with it. :)
HI Phil, this is Stacey, Webb's wife,
I too like a mind challenge. I believe that she is Death! Why does she care if you are rich or poor.
Carlos,
Your answer is politically correct on this website, but you are the weakest link. :-)
Actually, how it possibkly be said of Wales that "the mystery of her ugliness hides beneath the dust?"
Webb,
Dobro - cool! Answers - cold. You are not gettting warmer.
Stacey,
Death?! I can see thinking that, but nope.
HI , It's me again, Stacey, Well my other guesses are either the Sun or the Moon. Webb has guessed Sin Which I believe is a good guess.
Stacey - the sun and moon aren't ugly either! You are the weakest link! ;-)
Webb, SIN! nope. How do princes and popes pass beneath her walls?
This is driving me nuts now cause I don't have the mental capacity to think about it at the moment.
Gah!
Marieke!
You used to be the Strongest Link! What happened?
How about the ozone layer....which covers the just and the unjust.
the smile part make me think of Mona Lisa;) The stones cry out makes me think of Stone Henge.) Money can be very ugly.... Oh Perhaps it Greed.....Am I close...Stacey.
Brief synopsis (if you want more details, I posted on my blog):
I'm prepping for an audition in three week to get an exception from the Music Dept Chair at SFSU so I can attend in the fall, as well as prepping for taking placement tests that same day for musicianship, theory, and piano (which will have some bearing on the decision to make an exception for me), I'm working 40 hrs/week, in school parttime, working on getting financial aid/scholarships, making sure I have time for my hubby, etc. And I haven't done any music studies (or any other studies for that matter) for a year and a half so I'm rusty on everything.
How's that for a full plate?
*collapse*
Someone else can be the strongest link this time!
Stacey,
The Ozone layer!? Who is this? Al Gore? :-)
Mona Lisa? Go to the back of the class.
Stone Henge? Hmmmmmmm...now we're thinking, but nope.
Marieke,
I knew you were jammin' too much on life lately.
I think you should go to Berkely, then you could commute from Salem.
You'll always be a strong link in my book.
yup, i think i do... i think?
Is the "she" referring to the city of Jerusalem?
Oooh, that sounds like a good guess Shannon!
And Phil, if SF doesn't work out, I'll see if I can convince the hubby to find a school in Boston ;) I don't think there's much chance of that though...I don't think Nathan wants to leave CA, lol!
The whore of Babylon in Revelations
is my guess.
Queen Elizabeth I is my second guess.
The Great Babylon....Mother of Prostitutes And of the evil things of the Earth......This is My last attempt...(If I'm right!) or not..........Stacey
Shannon,
Jerusalem? Uh-uh you are the weakest link! :-)
Whore of Babylon? ded and Stacey - you are both the weakest link.
Queen Elizabeth the 1st!? You'd make a great Welshman! but a wrong one.
Hey Phil, what happened to those hints, eh?
ok, not the sun or moon, not the church, which were all my first hunches...is the song about
Time?
I find it hard to give up. It really is not in me. I'm running out of answers....I searched hard for my last answer......I will keep thinking .It's like a clogged sink...I have to keep trying until I unclog it''''''Stacey. Perhaps some draino........
Pam,
Time out! No way. ;-)
Good talking with you today. I think I've been to that beach behind you in the blog photo.
Hey Stacey - and all others too. I have sarted to leave hints at the end of the post. I will leave more.
Is It the Vatican City You did say ugly.....beneath the dust....They do what they do with out a care of suffering....but yet the awe struck mob still gazes....It is the law of the vatican city....which the popes and princes are under....
Wow - interesting guess - The Vatican?
Nope.
The Daughter of Zion.......I'm getting obsessed :>//////Stacey
Stacey,
Your obsession has made you -
The Weakest Link! ;-)
Daughters of Zion?
She is a statue in Rome or some other notable Italian location.
Is the "she" a personification of something which is not human?
...or "she" is often found in cathedrals where Latin was used rigorously until the changes in the Catholic mass of Pope John of the 1960's.
ooops...forgot my ded
Hey ded,
What do you think this is twenty questions!? - HA, HA, HA, HA! This is a RIDDLE!
What hangs upside down by a rope?
A ded batman! HA, HA, HA, HA! (couldn't resist the old Batman/Riddler scenario here)
Oh, by the way - Statue in Rome!? - blaaaaaaaat! nope, but you're getting warmer, Darn good guess.
The Statue of Liberty?
Marieke,
Does she speak Latin?
Nope, nope, nope.
Dangit!
I thought there was Latin on the statue somewhere (I haven't actually been to see it).
Oh well, I'll try again soon!
Actually, the game could morph into twenty questions and I would be fine with it.
right now, I can't think about her...I'm hanging upside down sulking over not getting it.
I vote we change this to 20 questions!
I was even talking with my co-worker about "her" and we're both stumped.
The best we can figure is that she is an old statue or monument or something, possibly located in the Vatican, or in a church building of Catholic origins that's located somewhere prominent.
Beyond that, we're clueless...
An old statue, or monument...in a church...so close...yet so far...hehehehehe...
Hints #4 and #5 added to post by the way.
Yeah, not helping....
and I'm sure once someone figures it out, everyone will say "Oh, DUH! Why didn't I think of that..."
Mother Shipton
when you said ugly I immediately thought of Medusa... I saw the gaping jaw ,,,,The suffering of Humanity (snakes). who knows her story...Stacey.........
You said UGLY, that must be my mother-in-law!
Just kidding but I couldn't resist. :)
Mother Shipton!? That's the coolest rwong answer yet!
Medusa? These answers are just getting more and more creative - but no.
Hint #6 is up now.
The first thing that popped into my head is a gargoyle. But I have no idea if they're considered female.
Well Marieke,
gargoyles can be either male or female, so that's a pretty darn good guess - becuse you are The Strongest Link!
Woo-Hoo!
Hey that's twice in a row!
Thank God,,,,,,I do appreciate all the research this has made me do. I have been on many sites and read a few chapter of the Bible also. A Gargoyle!!!!!!!!!!....Now I can get back to all the jobs I have put off because of this congrats Marieke!
I think "she" is the sphinx.
She's made of stone, has a toothy gaping mouth, is in the old old world (hence latin) ...and so forth.
--Becky
PS email me at pxsarkanyATgmail.com
Ood's Song of Freedom from Doctor Who also contains the phrase "Cum Tacent Clamant." It is followed by "Serva me, servato te" (Save me, and I will save you).
Hi Peter,
Thanks for the great Dr. Who connection to the phrase Cum Tacent Clamant.
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