15. Eid Ma Clack Shaw by Bill Callahan

We all know the feeling: that hypnogogic space between sleep and waking. When roused from a dream in which, on an azure cloud, you compose the perfect poem/symphony/screenplay/etc., you scramble to find a pen so you can write it down. But the inspiration dribbles down your brain like water through a colander.

"Eid Ma Clack Shaw" is like a melancholy version of Tenacious D's "Tribute." Not the sublime itself, but a record of what it's like to stand in the presence of the sublime.

Tormented dreams of Callahan's dead lover give way to a revelation: the perfect song. But perfection turns into utter nonsense when removed from its dream-logic. "Eid ma clack shaw/ Zupoven del ba/ Mertepy ven seinur/ Cofally ragdah." Callahan delivers these lines with haunting sincerity.  

Video: "Eid Ma Clack Shaw" by Bill Callahan