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BEARSKIN

from LIKE A WORLD by Patrick Regan Band

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about

Inspired in part by a story collected by the Brothers Grimm, published in 1815, known in English as "Bearskin."

lyrics

BEARSKIN

Nothing waiting for him when he went home from the war
He met with silence at the table after silence at the door
In town he felt a vagabond, a tramp without a trade
At home he felt himself a stranger
A walking accusation and a mouth to feed

Bearskin

No one spoke unkindly, they just didn’t speak at all
And no one gave him any hard looks, but he saw their faces fall
One day he kept walking, past the churches, shops, and fields
He took the trail into the mountains
And he knocked the mud of that life from his boot heels

Bearskin

Empty as a penitent, he laid his musket down
Below him buzzards spiraled upward
Wisps of woodsmoke marked the town
“I know just what you need,” crowed the first voice heard in days
The soldier turned and faced the devil
He rose slowly to his feet and held his gaze

Bearskin

The devil summoned up an angry bear
The soldier took its life without a thought
Made a bargain and put on the devil’s coat
And over that he pulled the hide of the bear

Four long years he wandered, and as they had agreed
His pockets always brimmed with money
More than he could ever need
All that time he never bathed and never cut his hair
And though the money opened doors for him
Few could see the man inside the bear

Bearskin

Once he followed sobbing down the hallway of an inn
At first the troubled man was frightened, but he let the soldier in
All his ills were want of money, they were swiftly healed
A grateful debtor with three daughters
The old fellow offered marriage, but the eldest would not yield

Father, said the youngest daughter, go will I
I will wed this bearskin if he’ll have me
Surely there is more to him than meets the eye
I’ll repay this stranger’s generosity

Three more years he wandered over strange and hostile lands
Asking all he helped to pray he might slip through the devil’s hands
Thinking of the lion-hearted bride that he had found
And often touching half a broken ring
That one day with its mate would bring the world round

Bearskin

Could have bought a kingdom, or shipping, mines, and mills
He could have savored every luxury or mastered others’ wills
Gave where it was needed, letting go of every thing
And through repentance and detachment and compassion
He grew richer than a king

Bearskin

The morning after seven years were done
Bearskin called the devil to account
Settled up and took the trail down from the mountain
Feeling that was a battle he’d won

Fine as any general and mounted on a steed
There went the shunned and tempted man
Who’d conquered loneliness and greed
Father get your jacket on, the elder sisters cried
Here comes the finest man we’ve ever seen
A mare without a rider by his side

Three sat drinking cider while the elder sisters preened
It was the bearskin’s bride, the father, and the soldier in between
The woman reached and took his hand, not even looking up
She’d spied the half-ring, like a crescent moon
Shining through the cider at the bottom of her cup

First she teased he looked more handsome as a bear
Then she fit the broken ring together
Soon she rode beside him on a jaunty mare
To a simple life they both found better than treasure

Some say one sister hung herself
And one leaped down a well
Grandma says it’s just a tale her grandma used to tell

credits

from LIKE A WORLD, released January 14, 2023
Copyright Patrick S. Regan (BMI)

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Patrick Regan Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

A songwriter and singer, I'm handy enough to be a one-man band, but lucky enough to rope in great collaborators. Never played for a living: living to play.

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