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The Charlatan
About the song
It’s Fall of 2016. We’re all glued to our TVs and phones, waiting for presidential election results to come in. We had been rolling our eyes and just assuming that “there’s no way” that someone like 45 could become president. After all, the guy was a fake, a snake oil salesman, a shady businessman, a sexual predator and womanizer… he was and is a Charlatan.
A couple of years into the farce-turned-reality, Cara and Charlie sat down one evening to write a song, any song. Things were bad. We wanted to get our emotions on paper and out into the world. We wanted a waltzy song with a catchy hook that evoked images of a creepy carnival or circus, or a side show in an old west town.
“The Charlatan” is a cautionary tale about not allowing hubris to go unchecked. If you think something is not quite right, there’s a good chance you’re right, and you should trust your gut.
The production of “The Charlatan” was no mistake either. Even in our original notes, we wrote for the intro, “broke-down and tortured” to signify that we wanted it to sound like a music box that somebody dropped out a second-story window. Through the magic of synthesizers and post-production, we (well, our star producer Jason Gonzales) achieved exactly that sound. Even the little chuckle during the intro was an accidental artifact picked up during tracking that fit so well we kept it.
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Single Artwork © Mr. Hooper Art, Nashville, TN, 2023
Lyrics
He rode into town with a smile and a promise
Of snake oil and crops of prosperity.
Riding high on his high horse, and low in our eyes,
The charlatan deceives with sincerity.
Then he sits at the table, an ace up his sleeve,
And everyone there still saw it.
An ace nonetheless, the man reeks confidence
'Cause he knows he won't have to draw it.
And he says "I'll bet you this dollar that I can be king!"
No way, there's no way!
And he says "I'll bet you this dollar that I can be king!"
No way, there's no way!
We watch with awe at this crumbling façade,
We can't wait to rebuild where it stood!
A charlatan maybe, but a bet we can fix
For good, for good!
Everything shiny, like glitter and gold,
And you thought that you had us at "hello."
Well I followed your lead and my crops never grew;
My fields have fallen to fallow.
I made some mistakes and he held them against me,
But I knew as much about him!
Nobody believes me, except cruel speculation;
Don't stay silent, my future uncertain!
And he says "I'll bet you this dollar that I can be king!"
No way, there's no way!
And he says "I'll bet you this dollar that I can be king!"
No way, there's no way!
This story might sound a little familiar:
The people, they feared they'd been fleeced.
By the charlatan they thought was perfectly harmless
Released, released, released!
Singing, "La, la la la, la la la, la la la"
"La, la la la, la la la!"
"La, la la la, la la la, la la la, la la"
"La, na na na na, da da da..."
"Da"
"Daa"
"Daaaaa"