One of my favorite songs is Badge by Cream. When I saw Eric Clapton in concert, this was the song I most wanted him to play. Luckily, he played it before bringing his special guest, Vince Gill, on stage. Vince is the Nashville equivalent of bird shit. You see him everywhere. Anyway, Clapton played Badge, and I was lost in the guitars riffs and the words.
I was so inspired by Clapton’s performance that I wrote a short story based on the words. I’ve thought about posting excerpts from the story, but it is kind of dark. All of this is weird because I have no idea what the song is about. The lyrics sound nonsensical, but I reckon a lot of songs do. No matter. I know what I visualize when I hear the song. As I did with Somewhere Down the Crazy River, I have decided to visualize Badge in blogosphere form.
Thinkin’ ’bout the times you drove in my car.
Thinkin’ that I might have drove you too far.
And, I’m thinkin’ ’bout the love that you laid on my table.
I told you not to wander ’round in the dark.
I told you ’bout the swans, that they live in the park.
Then, I told you ’bout our kid, now he’s married to Mabel.
Yes, I told you that the light goes up and down.
Don’t you notice how the wheel goes ’round?
And, you better pick yourself up from the ground
Before they bring the curtain down.
Yes, before they bring the curtain down.
Talkin’ ’bout a girl that looks quite like you.
She didn’t have time to wait in the queue.
She cried away her life since she fell off the cradle.
Guess what. After all of that, the song still doesn’t make any sense.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 