Road to Gubbio

Lyrics

On the road to Gubbio I met an expert
He said, "I know all about these wolves.
I've studied their habits, and I know they rabbits,
and their coats get thicker when it's cold.
So send me on in. I'll try to outsmart him;
It's what separates man from beast."
With all of his knowledge he may have been smarter,
But he made for one hungry wolf's feast.

On the road to Gubbio I met a "wise" man
He said, "I've lived for seven hundred years.
But I still can't find the source of all questions
'Cause I serve all my sensible fears.
Son," he said, "you don't get to be my age
By chasing after danger."
I said, "With all due respect I hope that I die before
Fortress makes charity a stranger.

Terrorist eyes and teeth that will bite you
Make a disguise and run from the fight you
Swore you'd never start.

On the road to Gubbio I met a poor man
He said, "Hello my name is Francis.
I know that this wolf is probably threatening,
But for my brother I will take chances
What have I to lose? I don't own a thing.
I'll take the sparrow's song, and I'll take the spiders' sting,
And I'll give to the rest of what the good day will bring -
By the way it's nice to meet you."

Terrorist lies and words that will bite you
Make a disguise and run from the fight you
Swore you'd never start.

Well that wolf saw him come, and he lied on the ground.
Francis said, "Man (Brother wolf), why do you want to eat up the town?"
And the wolf made his peace with unspotted fleece,
And made his way down the road from Gubbio.

Reflections

This is a song about St. Francis of Assisi. There is a collection of stories about this little poor man who live in Italy in the 12th and 13th Centuries which is titled The Little Flowers of St. Francis. In one of these stories Francis is walking to a town called Gubbio when he hears news that a wolf is terrorizing the people of Gubbio.  Francis courageously encounters the wolf and makes peace with it by making an agreement with the wolf to stop devouring the people of the town in exchange for being fed by the people each day.  The wolf agrees.

You often see statues or paintings of St. Francis with a wolf, and this story is why.  It's kind of makes St. Francis out to be a Dr. Doolittle who can speak with the animals, but perhaps all things truly are possible with God.  What I tried to do in this song is represent three worldviews and how each one tends to respond to the trials of life.

The first man, a scientist, is strictly concerned with studying the wolf.  His hubris of being sure that his knowledge of wolves is the best solution to the problem is what ultimately gets him killed and helps no one in the end.   This is not to say that science and religion are at odds.  I believe quite the opposite.  At their very cores, both science and religion believe that there is a truth and that it can be known.  The difference lies in method, scope, and purview of each discipline.

Modern science, as we know it, is the process of measuring and counting things, trying to form hypotheses and testing these hypotheses by repeating experiments over and over to see if there are similarities in the results.  But science does not have any business in matters pertaining to miracles or the human spirit.  It is too bad that so many scientists these days are anti-religious; I think that's usually a cop-out on their part.  Many of history's greatest scientists have been men of the cloth.  Only the most fundamental and uneducated religious people are anti-science, and only the most fundamental and uneducated scientists are anti-religion.

The second man in this story is the worldly man who plays it safe.  He is a man who does not take any chances in life and has lived a long life.  Consequently, because of his old age people tend to call him "wise."  I always considered the line "Fortress makes charity a stranger" a bit awkward to sing and appropriately communicate, but it's exactly what I was trying to say at the time.  "Fortress" as opposed to the virtue of "Fortitude" is the walling up of oneself against life's difficulties.  It's something along the lines of selfish cowardice.  What is sacrificed in this type of "wisdom" is the opportunity to be charitable, and brave, for one another.

Francis on the other hand is not attached to anything which gives him perfect freedom.  Francis did not fear the wolf precisely because he had heroic virtue.  He gave his life to help others and teach others how to live peacefully, and it had nothing to do with wealth, science, or self-preservation.  Francis reminded us all that success in life only comes by way of love.  He does not try to kill the wolf either, he calls him "Brother" and makes a compromise with him.

Listening to this song again the one thing about this arrangement that stands out for me is Paul Spencer's syncopated ride cymbal on the bridge sections.  He was a fine drummer, and I'm sure he still is.

This is one of the only songs, as far as I know, that has been covered by another artist.  My good friend, T.J. Pillion, who used to play bass in my band (and who is now Dr. Thomas Pillion, MD) made a record a few years back and did his own version which I enjoy.