Judgment Day
A Demo a Day: Day 19.
Thomas is shaken from his grief by the blaring of Gabriel’s trumpet; Judgment Day is upon us. He ponders all that has happened, singing to no one in particular, accompanied by a four-on-the-floor kick drum and a galloping bass line. A hi-hat and snare backbeat join in as he turns his gaze to the audience to finish the first verse. The dead bodies rise up into the air and eventually all disappear, leaving Thomas alone onstage. A full band arrives for the chorus, which is followed by a jangly guitar anthem featuring the signature 3-4-5 melody. The orchestration builds with each verse, and there is a simple Who-like interlude of thunderous barre chords and Hammond organ. Finally, there are doubled-up chorus and anthem sections backed by a choir singing hallelujahs, and the opera ends.
Lyrically, Thomas gets to have the last word about the meaning of life. The good news is that he’s learned something; the bad news is, he’s not telling. Thomas does offer a few choice tidbits: most of the drama around us is of our own making; we seem to thrive on letting other people manipulate us; and as to the ultimate question of reason vs. faith, it’s up to each of us.
This song has an interesting history. I wrote the music and a handful of lyrics in the early 1990’s, completely independent of the opera. It was originally a fuck-around-and-find-out anthem of rebellion, with an already complete arrangement. It had the title, too, which turned out to be really handy when I was searching for a capstone piece for the opera. It’s almost as if Judgment Day had been… waiting around for me to write an opera.