Squonk (Genesis)

uke4ia

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I've been playing the uke for over 40 years, and one of my favorite things has always been trying to see how much '70s progressive rock I could learn to play on the uke. I've been able to play this for a while, but avoided the song because it's impossible to sing in the original register. I lowered the verses by an octave here.

This is a Genesis song called "Squonk". It's about a creature that constantly weeps in shame because of its extreme ugliness. When captured, it cries until it dissolves into a puddle of tears. Crypto-zoology is one of the possible song topics for this week's Seasons of the Ukulele, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

From Wikipedia, I learned this week that Genesis hadn't made up the squonk. It's a folklore creature that was said to inhabit the hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania, and was first written about in the 1910 book "Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods." The earlier write-up was reprinted in Jorge Luis Borges' 1969 "Book of Imaginary Beings", where rockers apparently learned about it. Steely Dan sang about the squonk before Genesis. A lyric I'd never quite been able to make out in "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" was "Have you ever seen a squonk's tears? Well, look at mine."
 
Hello master,

The last time I listened to this song was some 40 years ago, and your stunning rendition brings back so many memories...

That said, your enduring effort in performing incredible prog gems deserves all the admiration I can Think of. Thank you for making my day each time I ventured into your YT channel. I wish we were able to share a drink or more together; meantime I raise my cup of herbal tea as a toast for you.

All the best,
Gilles
 
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