///*****/// ///The Tale of the Sahdu and the Cold Onsen ///*****/// [Intro | lone shakuhachi | low electronic hum underneath | sparse] [Spoken Word] For five long winters, the sahdu sat on the porch. The tiles on the bathhouse roof were slipping. Steam no longer rose above the cedar ridges. The dragon was being forgotten. The cedar-plank farmhouses stood empty, shutters clicking in the wind. The sahdu scratched his shaved head, looking down the valley, and murmured to himself: [Chorus | sung, hypnotic] Can we save an onsen with compute? Can we save an onsen with compute? [Spoken Word] He picked up his wooden staff and walked down the mountain path to find out. [Verse 1 | shamisen enters | percussive thump under the vocal] Down near the river bend, old Master Tanaka was cutting buckwheat soba with a giant iron cleaver. Thump, thump, thump. Good morning, Tanaka-san, the sahdu called. Tell me, could we save the onsen with compute? Tanaka didn't look up. Thump, thump. Kon-pyu-to? Is it a new kind of radish for the cold dipping broth? If it doesn't add starch, I don't need it. He tapped his flour board, blew the dust in the air, and ignored the sahdu completely. [Chorus | sung] Can we save an onsen with compute? Can we save an onsen with compute? [Verse 2 | koto | water sounds] Over in the cold water sheds, Obasan Yanase was dipping wooden frames into the icy Kuzuryu mountain run-off, lifting sheets of pulp. Yanase-san, asked the sahdu. What if we save the onsen with compute? She lifted the wet paper frame, squinted at him, and shook her head. Is compute a waterproof bark? Can I boil it in the iron pot? No? Then don't bring foreign rocks into my stream, sahdu-san. The dragon likes the water pure. She tossed the pulp back and turned her back to the vat. [Chorus | sung] Can we save an onsen with compute? Can we save an onsen with compute? [Verse 3 | shamisen and low drone] Up at the cedar-ball brewery entrance, Master Yoshida was testing the fermenting mash from the local Koshihikari rice. Master Yoshida, can compute save the bathhouse? Yoshida took a wooden ladle, sniffed the yeast, and chuckled. Compute? Sounds sour. Can I ferment it in the cedar barrels? If it doesn't produce fifteen percent alcohol, it won't warm anyone this winter. He slid the heavy sliding door shut with a loud thud. [Chorus | sung] Can we save an onsen with compute? Can we save an onsen with compute? [Verse 4 | sparse | river ambience] Down by the rocks of the Kuzuryu River, an old angler stood knee-deep in the rapids holding a long bamboo rod. Could we save an onsen with compute, shouted the sahdu over the rushing water. The fisherman spat into the river, adjusted his straw hat, and coughed. Compute? Is it live bait? If the sweetfish won't bite it, why are you talking to me while the river runs? [Bridge | strip back to shakuhachi | whispered layers] Every shopkeeper, cooper, and carver shook their heads. The sahdu on the hill has lost his mind, they whispered. He's wandering around asking about magic words while the village goes to sleep. [End]
