Besides Merthyr, this was one of my favourite songs on 'Pancake Ferret'. There were a couple of others it might have been fun to revisit, but I was restricting myself to two songs per album, and some of the others had sad memories best left alone.
The other thing was that I never forgave myself for ending this song with a 1980s-sounding wavetable synthesizer at the end, having spent so much effort to try and pin down a 1969-1970 sound. In this new version, I used a mellotron organ tape instead. I also used an alternate take of one of the lines, where I wasn't sure whether to use "but really he's an incubi" and the attendant mangling of the English language, or the alternate line "but really he's a cu-biii". In the original song I used the former, in the new version I used the latter, so it's horses for courses.
lyrics
What did Daniel think he was...?
(Original recording appears on 'Pancake Ferret', 2008)
His name is Daniel Ti'Fiona, his mother was a succubus
And when he found her genes had carried, he didn't view that as a plus
His parents never got to tell him, they left him when he was a child.
And when he found he was a Demon, that was the last day that he smiled.
What did Daniel think he was? He should have worked it out because
He lost the need to sleep and eat - the price of power is far from sweet
He didn't know he was a Creature, he thought his wings were just for show
And now he knows that he's not mortal, it left him really feeling low
He's got the power to read your feelings, he's got the power to steal your soul
But powers come with heavy burdens, he's frightened he might lose control
And now his life will change because he's just discovered what he was
He thought he was this normal guy, but really he's a 'cubi
“...why of course not! I just love the idea that I'm now destined to become a part of the Demon race!”
“I think you're overreacting a bit...”
“There are freaking WINGS coming out of my head! I get every right to overreact!”
“Aw, Dan... cheer up. I'm sure things will turn out okay. After all, you now have hundreds of years to come to terms with the change!”
“This definitely is a big change in my life... I guess I'll have to live with it. And outlive everyone I've ever cared about... added to the fact that I'll likely start hunting others... and then be hunted down by other adventurers... Or does it actually change who I am?”
Perhaps he thought he was an Angel, his wings are feathered as should be
He didn't have a 'Cubi clan-mark on any place that he could see
His name is Daniel Ti'Fiona, his mother was a succubus
And now he knows that he's a 'Cubi, no point in kicking up a fuss
And now his life's improved because he's come to terms with what he was
Of all the things we can't escape, we have no fate but what we make
credits
from Project Retake,
released May 6, 2014
Dan was played by James Rolls
supported by 6 fans who also own “What did Daniel think he was? (2014)”
"There is lambswool under my naked feet..." - those words always come to my mind while listening to the first bars of "Wide Of The Mark". There's undoubtedly quite some "Genesis" heritage to be found in the music on this album. However, the band that is most closely related to "The ID" is certainly "IQ", which is among the favorite bands and artists named by both Peter Albrektsen (gtr, kbd) and Tim Pepper (v, kbd). So the similarity of the names "ID" vs. "IQ" is obviously not purely coincidental. Being a long-time admirer of the creative output of "IQ", this album inevitably reaches my heart. Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)
The hard-hitting, genre-agnostic songs on the latest from Dan Webb were inspired by conversations he had with a wide range of musicians. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 18, 2023
supported by 4 fans who also own “What did Daniel think he was? (2014)”
With its debut album, this young band from Vienna follows the footsteps of honorable Austrian prog masters like "Matter Of Taste". The music on this concept album is not of the kind I'd call particularly innovative - it travels pretty much on well known roads paved by many others long ago. However, these youngsters do it in a highly pleasant way, skillfully avoiding the pitfalls of pseudo-progressive phrase rehashing most of the time - certainly more successfully so than several of their experienced grand paragons of prog. Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)