A Song for Starbuck

Artwork “Starbuck” © by George Klauba - www.georgeklauba.com

A Song for Starbuck

Well I hope you can see this through

And I hope your faith will hold true

When the journey tears it from you

Be true.

And I hope you will accept the path laid out for you

And what you do respect will be taken from you’

Well I hope you can see this through

when your world is torn right in two

By the fates who rule over you

And I hope you do believe

That we’re all in this for you

And I hope you will achieve

What you’ve set out to do

Well I know life can be untrue

When the waves climb right over you

But remember dreams can come true

For you.

Produced by Anthony Garone Jr. and William Brown

recorded at Cow Pilot Studios (AZ) and First Wave Digital (NY)

Tony Garone -vocals, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, piano, drum programming

Mike Carr - vocals

William Brown - electric guitars

Annmarie Garone - autoharp

What is this song about?

I wanted to make this a song that you could apply not just to Starbuck’s situation but to anyone who finds themselve in a situation that is beyond their control. A good friend of mine was going through some hard times when I wrote this and his situation, although not a dire as Starbuck’s, was still dire.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Starbuck’s character, he is Ahab’s number one - the first mate of the Pequod and a man of great faith. Starbuck is the quintessential Christian; his cross to bear is Ahab - and what a cross to bear it is! Starbuck is torn by his strong sense of duty and the moral architecture of his soul which tells him that Ahab’s obsession with Moby Dick is “blasphemy.” It is blasphemy because Starbuck believes that Moby Dick is a dumb brute who took off Ahab’s leg by sheer circumstance. Ahab is convinced that Moby Dick has intent and is a calculating entity - in addition to projecting the nature of God and the universe on the whale.