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about

The picture in my mind when I wrote this song is of 1950s LA, steaming subways, and cocktail bars in black and white.

Arturo is Arturo Bandini - the legendary character from the Bandini series of books written by John Fante. He is swagger and hope and rage and frustrated creativity and love and despair all in one character and I pretty much read every Fante novel I could get my hands on after I discovered him. In one scene Arturo falls in love with a woman he catches sight of on the subway and as he follows her through the crowd he watches her light a cigarette and then let the match fall to the ground. In my memory he eats it - a kind of self-sacrificial, totemic action. But my friend remembered it differently and said Arturo looks for where she struck her match on the wall and kisses the burn before realising that there are hundreds and hundreds of marks on the wall where people have done the same thing a thousand times over. Either way, it breaks my heart. It's so human and brave and heart-broken all at once. I woke up with the song in my head one morning - round and round 'Arturo' and the rest just came from there. Inspired by Fante. So there you go!

lyrics

Arturo:

A pair of red heels on asphalt,
A glimpse of ankle, a nail, a smile,
A batting eyelash through cigarette smoke…
She drops the match, he eats the match, she drops the match, he eats the match and starts to cry

Arturo, Arturo

The clink of ice-cubes in a tumbler,
The taunt of laughter across a crowded room,
It’s all about him, but he is nothing
She drops the match, he eats the match, she drops the match, he eats the match and starts to cry

Arturo, Arturo

credits

from The Bridges of the Years, released November 17, 2013

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about

The Wild Rye London, UK

EP Bridges of the Years out now. Also on Share More Air from @CommunionMusic.

We sing songs to celebrate life, and we invite you to join us.

www.thewildrye.com

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