Finn Mac Eoin; Bad Busker

Hello,

Three months ago I was browsing in a charity shop here in Ireland and came across a guitar with one string. I had no interest in it, as I never played an instrument, and at 70 with injured fingers from a lifetime of construction work in London, it was unlikely I ever would pursue the guitar.

My attention was captured by an engraved name at the back of the neck, up by the metal keys. It was “Erik Clapton”, which initially I assume was the man. Later, I was told his name was “Eric”. I took the Guitar to ProMusica in Cork City and they put 5 strings on for me. The lower thick one was the survivor.

I went online to find out where I needed to put my fingers in the chords. The G is an impossibility as my little finger has been broken and mended crooked. Anyway, I kept at it and managed to learn a few songs. Yesterday, I wrote my first song which I thought might become the buskers anthem. It is based on the story of the one string guitar.

I recall reading something in Alcoholics Anonymous:

We all had to start somewhere, but not everyone remembers the difficulties of learning. Sitting at home in Lockdown with nobody to ask anything was condusive to developing a lot of bad habits.

I am still very amateur and hence the sentiment and title of the song.

As regards the strum I just belt away at it like single cylinder piston and it sound not too bad.

You can pass it on if you wish.

Regards,

Finn

Just because my tongue is cleftand I’ve got tinnitus on the leftdoesn’t mean I can’t sing in tuneI’ve being playin’ here since noon

Someone’s thrown me a rotten eggat least I’m singin’ and I don’t begI’d juggle if I had the ballsdown the alley a tom cat-calls

Bad busker, bad busker, is my nameall my songs, they sound the sameI’m tapping my feet to the strumbut no one joins me in the hum

The crowd gets bigger when I stopthat’s usually when a string goes popI can play with five just as well as sixa D without an E I can hide in the mix

So I keep on going ’til the next one snapsthat’s when I hear the slow hand clapsfive already missing, not looking sharpI’ll finish the song, like on a jews harp

It is sounding like a didgeridoono keys no chords and no Ballyhoonow just imagine, imagine, what ifmy only tune was the Peter Gunn riff?

Bad busker, bad busker, is my nameall my songs they sound the sametime to check what’s in the hatit’s empty again, well it’s tit for tat

Bad busker, bad busker, is my nameall my songs they sound the sameno one ever asks, to play it again SamI’m packin up, it’s time to scram

Bad busker, bad busker, I’m movin’ onleavin’ before the crowd has gonebad busker, bad busker, is my nameall one-string songs they sound the same.

The post Finn Mac Eoin; Bad Busker appeared first on The Busking Project.