A Portrait of the Trequartista as a Young Man Lyrics
Now is time to take recourse, to drag my bones from 'neath his corpse
Retract the blade within his heart, inscribe our initials in the bark
Of every tree in every woods, in ink red blood, can you imagine?
While wearing his head as a hood, I'd take life for a crime of passion
[Chorus: Gareth & Tom]
Lies told, lies told, lies told, lies told
[Verse 2: Gareth & Tom]
Darling, if I had the choice, I'd excavate his throat of voice
And corrugate his vocal chords to play a tune to please the Lord
Make him recite this murder ballad, a sombre tune told by a bore
Pump blood around the limp and pallid, harmonising as you snored
[Chorus: Gareth & Tom]
Lies told, lies told, lies told, lies told
Lies told, lies told, lies told, lies told
[Bridge: Gareth, Gareth & Tom]
One day when I'm older, I'll write it all down
A portrait of the trequartista as a young man
(Lies told)
[Outro: Los Campesinos!, Gareth, Gareth & Tom]
We all know we're gonna die
We're a speck of dust in a bad god's eye
He rubs us clean, but love is blind
A balloon artist kisses porcupine
We all know we're gonna die (We all know we're gonna die)
We're a speck of dust in a bad god's eye (We're a speck of dust in a bad god's eye)
He rubs us clean, but love is blind (He rubs us clean, but love is blind)
A balloon artist kisses porcupine (A balloon artist kisses porcupine)
We all know we're gonna die
We're a speck of dust in a bad god's eye
He rubs us clean, but love is blind
A balloon artist kisses porcupine
About
This song is about Gareth Campesinos! thinking about killing his romantic rival by defeating him in a duel and killing him. Then Gareth fantasizes about dismembering the rival, wearing his head as a hood, and using his vocal chords to play the harp.
Trequartista is football (soccer) position. The word is Italian and is usually roughly translated into English as “playmaker”. The Trequartista is a very important position in Italian football as he is often the most important and charismatic player of the team (he is the Italian number 10). The Trequartista is technically superior to his team mates, is an attacking midfielder and makes the game happen. He is the one who scores. As Italian football is very defensive (hence the Catenaccio tactic), the whole team switches to attack only when the Trequartista gets the ball. Famous Trequartista include Baggio, Totti and Del Piero (all played number 10 under the blue Italy’s National Team’s shirt). In short, the Trequartista is the best.
The title is a play on James Joyce’s semi-autobiographical novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
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