The Lady in the Window (741 Hz)

Flamenco rumba with vintage ska and surf-rock twang; three clearly distinct voices—a swaggering mature male baritone, bright young female mezzo, and gravelly commanding elderly female contralto—with 1963 tape warmth and human timing, 148 BPM party swing, nylon-string flamenco lead, spring-reverb surf guitar, offbeat ska guitar, upright bass, dry snare, cajón, palmas, castanets, Hammond and hand percussion; three shutter slams turn to palmas, stop-time breaks, explosive finale, continuous subtle precisely tuned 741 Hz sine beneath the band

[INTRO — SEVILLE, SUMMER 1963]

[Crickets. Courtyard chatter. Glasses clink.]

[Spring-reverb surf guitar]

[Flamenco nylon guitar answers]

[Three loud wooden shutter slams]

[BANG! BANG! BANG!]

[Doña Rosa — elderly Spanish female contralto, furious]
¡Por el amor de Dios!
¡Que son la una de la mañana!

[Music stops]

[Cosmic — American male, speaking]
Was that a request?

[Lucía — young Spanish female, laughing]
No, cariño. That was a warning.

[VERSE 1 — COSMIC, ROCKABILLY-SURF SWAGGER]
Got a borrowed guitar and a rented room,
Got a drummer who thinks it's the afternoon.
Little courtyard, little moonlight glow,
Little misunderstanding 'bout the way we go!

Tommy's on the snare, Louie's on the bass,
Somebody's got a trumpet and he's out of place.
We were doing pretty good till the quarter to two,
Then a window flew open and the trouble came through!

[PRE-CHORUS — LUCÍA, RHYTHMIC SPANISH RUMBA]

[Lucía — bright Spanish female vocal]
Ay, muchacho, baja la voz,
La señora tiene sueño, por favor.
But you keep that guitar
And you keep that beat,
Just don't wake the whole damn street!

[CHORUS — FULL BAND]
Don't wake Doña Rosa!
Don't shake the floor!
Don't wake Doña Rosa!
She's coming through the door!

One, two, three!
Ay, qué calor!
If she hears that rhythm,
She's gonna want more!

Don't wake Doña Rosa!
Too late, señor!

[INSTRUMENTAL — SURF GUITAR AND FLAMENCO PALMAS]

[VERSE 2 — LUCÍA LEAD]

[Lucía — natural Spanish-accented English]
I was dancing by the fountain
With my shoes beside the wall,
When I heard the upstairs shutters
Like a thunderclap fall.

One for your guitar,
Two for your pride,
Three for every silly boy
Who thinks he knows the time!

[Cosmic — sung]
Well, I'm keeping pretty steady!

[Lucía]
No, you're running half a mile!

[Cosmic]
But the ladies seem to like it!

[Lucía]
They've been laughing all the while!

[SHUTTERS — BANG! BANG! BANG!]

[Three palmas answer]

[CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!]

[Lucía — sung]
¡Eso! ¡Ahí está!
Now you finally found the bar!

[CHORUS — STRONGER SKA OFFBEAT]
Don't wake Doña Rosa!
Don't shake the floor!
Don't wake Doña Rosa!
She's coming through the door!

One, two, three!
Ay, qué calor!
If she hears that rhythm,
She's gonna want more!

Don't wake Doña Rosa!
Too late, señor!

[BREAKDOWN — BAND CUTS COMPLETELY]

[Footsteps descending stairs]

[An old wooden door creaks]

[Doña Rosa — elderly Spanish voice, sharply]
¡Basta! ¡Basta ya!

[One low cajón beat]

[Doña Rosa — rhythmic sung Spanish]
Cuarenta minutos,
¡Qué barbaridad!
Tenéis mucho ruido,
¡Pero poco compás!

[Flamenco palmas: CLAP — CLAP-CLAP — CLAP]

[Doña Rosa — sung]
Escucha la mano,
Escucha el tacón,
No corras, muchacho,
¡Respeta el son!

[Cosmic — stunned]
Did she just insult my drummer?

[Lucía — amused]
No. She insulted everybody.

[BRIDGE — ROSA TAKES CONTROL]

[Doña Rosa — commanding, melodic]
When I was a girl,
We'd dance till the dawn,
The boys would play fast,
And the girls carried on.

But speed ain't a rhythm,
And noise ain't a song.
You listen to the others
Or you'll never belong.

[Palmas alone — beautiful syncopation]

[Cosmic — softer]
Well, if you know it better,
Would you show us how?

[Doña Rosa]
¡Claro que sí!
¡Escuchadme ahora!

[EXPLOSIVE INSTRUMENTAL — 12 BARS]

[Doña Rosa leads palmas]

[Flamenco guitar takes main riff]

[Surf guitar answers with twang]

[Ska guitar locks into offbeats]

[Upright bass walks, cajón drives]

[Courtyard crowd joins]

[FINAL CHORUS — ROSA LEADS, ALL ANSWER]

[Doña Rosa]
¡Que siga la fiesta!

[Crowd]
¡OLE!

[Lucía]
Let the old floor shake!

[Crowd]
¡OLE!

[Cosmic]
We were looking for a rhythm—

[Doña Rosa]
And you finally found the beat!

[All — big joyful chorus]
Don't wake Doña Rosa!
She's already on her feet!
Don't wake Doña Rosa!
She's the queen of our street!

One, two, three!
Ay, qué calor!
Now the whole damn courtyard
Is begging her for more!

[FINAL VAMP — RUMBA, SURF, HANDCLAPS]

[Lucía]
¡Otra vez!

[Crowd]
¡Otra vez!

[Cosmic]
Rosa, can we play another?

[Doña Rosa]
¡Una más! ¡Y a dormir!

[ALL INSTRUMENTS STOP]

[Cosmic — speaking]
Same time tomorrow?

[Doña Rosa — dry]
Ni se te ocur

4144/7500

[INTRO — SEVILLE, SUMMER 1963] [Crickets. Courtyard chatter. Glasses clink.] [Spring-reverb surf guitar] [Flamenco nylon guitar answers] [Three loud wooden shutter slams] [BANG! BANG! BANG!] [Doña Rosa — elderly Spanish female contralto, furious] ¡Por el amor de Dios! ¡Que son la una de la mañana! [Music stops] [Cosmic — American male, speaking] Was that a request? [Lucía — young Spanish female, laughing] No, cariño. That was a warning. [VERSE 1 — COSMIC, ROCKABILLY-SURF SWAGGER] Got a borrowed guitar and a rented room, Got a drummer who thinks it's the afternoon. Little courtyard, little moonlight glow, Little misunderstanding 'bout the way we go! Tommy's on the snare, Louie's on the bass, Somebody's got a trumpet and he's out of place. We were doing pretty good till the quarter to two, Then a window flew open and the trouble came through! [PRE-CHORUS — LUCÍA, RHYTHMIC SPANISH RUMBA] [Lucía — bright Spanish female vocal] Ay, muchacho, baja la voz, La señora tiene sueño, por favor. But you keep that guitar And you keep that beat, Just don't wake the whole damn street! [CHORUS — FULL BAND] Don't wake Doña Rosa! Don't shake the floor! Don't wake Doña Rosa! She's coming through the door! One, two, three! Ay, qué calor! If she hears that rhythm, She's gonna want more! Don't wake Doña Rosa! Too late, señor! [INSTRUMENTAL — SURF GUITAR AND FLAMENCO PALMAS] [VERSE 2 — LUCÍA LEAD] [Lucía — natural Spanish-accented English] I was dancing by the fountain With my shoes beside the wall, When I heard the upstairs shutters Like a thunderclap fall. One for your guitar, Two for your pride, Three for every silly boy Who thinks he knows the time! [Cosmic — sung] Well, I'm keeping pretty steady! [Lucía] No, you're running half a mile! [Cosmic] But the ladies seem to like it! [Lucía] They've been laughing all the while! [SHUTTERS — BANG! BANG! BANG!] [Three palmas answer] [CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!] [Lucía — sung] ¡Eso! ¡Ahí está! Now you finally found the bar! [CHORUS — STRONGER SKA OFFBEAT] Don't wake Doña Rosa! Don't shake the floor! Don't wake Doña Rosa! She's coming through the door! One, two, three! Ay, qué calor! If she hears that rhythm, She's gonna want more! Don't wake Doña Rosa! Too late, señor! [BREAKDOWN — BAND CUTS COMPLETELY] [Footsteps descending stairs] [An old wooden door creaks] [Doña Rosa — elderly Spanish voice, sharply] ¡Basta! ¡Basta ya! [One low cajón beat] [Doña Rosa — rhythmic sung Spanish] Cuarenta minutos, ¡Qué barbaridad! Tenéis mucho ruido, ¡Pero poco compás! [Flamenco palmas: CLAP — CLAP-CLAP — CLAP] [Doña Rosa — sung] Escucha la mano, Escucha el tacón, No corras, muchacho, ¡Respeta el son! [Cosmic — stunned] Did she just insult my drummer? [Lucía — amused] No. She insulted everybody. [BRIDGE — ROSA TAKES CONTROL] [Doña Rosa — commanding, melodic] When I was a girl, We'd dance till the dawn, The boys would play fast, And the girls carried on. But speed ain't a rhythm, And noise ain't a song. You listen to the others Or you'll never belong. [Palmas alone — beautiful syncopation] [Cosmic — softer] Well, if you know it better, Would you show us how? [Doña Rosa] ¡Claro que sí! ¡Escuchadme ahora! [EXPLOSIVE INSTRUMENTAL — 12 BARS] [Doña Rosa leads palmas] [Flamenco guitar takes main riff] [Surf guitar answers with twang] [Ska guitar locks into offbeats] [Upright bass walks, cajón drives] [Courtyard crowd joins] [FINAL CHORUS — ROSA LEADS, ALL ANSWER] [Doña Rosa] ¡Que siga la fiesta! [Crowd] ¡OLE! [Lucía] Let the old floor shake! [Crowd] ¡OLE! [Cosmic] We were looking for a rhythm— [Doña Rosa] And you finally found the beat! [All — big joyful chorus] Don't wake Doña Rosa! She's already on her feet! Don't wake Doña Rosa! She's the queen of our street! One, two, three! Ay, qué calor! Now the whole damn courtyard Is begging her for more! [FINAL VAMP — RUMBA, SURF, HANDCLAPS] [Lucía] ¡Otra vez! [Crowd] ¡Otra vez! [Cosmic] Rosa, can we play another? [Doña Rosa] ¡Una más! ¡Y a dormir! [ALL INSTRUMENTS STOP] [Cosmic — speaking] Same time tomorrow? [Doña Rosa — dry] Ni se te ocur

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