About the Song

Gepetto’s Lament is the first song I wrote for the album, Narratives. It is an exploration of the story of Pinocchio. It includes a theme that I’ve always felt very close to my heart: unintended consequences. Even with the best of intentions, it is entirely possible to really foul things up. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life and a lot of them were a result of confusion and good intentions that went awry.

I picture Gepetto as a decent old man who just wanted to make something beautiful, while not realizing that even the best of intentions need to have a firm grounding in reality.

At the end of the song, we reach that moment when Gepetto realizes that his creation isn’t perfect. “And so it speaks, and so it lies.” He does his best to only put the good things into his creation but he forgets that we all need a little bit of darkness in us so that we can learn to really appreciate the light. I like to think that, after the song is over, his creation has some adventures and then turns out basically decent. Y’know, just like in the movie.

About the Composition

When I sat down to write the song I didn’t know what it was going to be about. I began noodling on the banjo and it took off from there. The electronic drum groove and bass parts came very quickly. Once I had the basic feel, the subject and words just came out of nowhere and I had the first draft of the song – both music and words – in just a couple of hours. When I shared them with my collaborator, Alyssa Rosenbloom, we massaged the lyrics into something stronger and more concise. This is what she says about it:

I tried to preserve the emotion and intent behind Nathan’s words, but sharpen and refine them so that each emotion and idea was crystallized and more poignant. What would happen if you had a child without a conscience? One who always acted on pure emotion and in the moment? Gepetto loves him despite the flaws but is also terrified of what he has created. In the end, Gepetto loses control over his creation, as all parents do.

Lyrics for ‘Gepetto’s Lament’

Take the wood
Take the knife
Set the blade and carve away all the pain and sadness

Cut it out
Sand it down
Build it to perfection
Arms, legs, fingers, toes
Carve it a brand new face, eyes, ears, and nose

This, my new creation child, one lacking sin
His, a new emotion wild, what lies within?

No mortality or affliction
No cause for discontent
No doubt, no artifice, no lonely fears
Gifted wit, wisdom and charm
Simple little child, little one who could do nobody harm

Take the string
Tie it off
Articulate the joints
Fingers move with intent

This, my new creation child, one lacking sin
His, a new emotion wild, what lies within?

Heartless life is not to live, so I machine the beating clock,
placed within turns sap to blood, animating wooden block
But I forgot a conscience clear so will he to man or monster steer?

This, my new creation child, one lacking sin
His, a new emotion wild, what lies within?

No morality, no affection
No cause for discontent
No doubt, no artifice, no lonely fears
Only wit, wiles and charm
Simple little child, little one who could only ever harm

So it speaks

So it lies.

–The Nathaniel Johnstone Band–