Note - no animals were harmed in the making of this music.
Note - the original instrumental track is at the bottom of this post, collaborations versions to follow below.
Warning – the original draft audio track contains no actual guitar.
Some time back in time, when writing the Circle of Fifths topic I composed a short example of a chord progression in this post. That progression made use of a borrowed chord and I composed it to demonstrate how the Circle of Fifths is a powerful tool to help with such things. This one idea directly led to a brand new topic on the subject of borrowed chords in its own right here.
@brianlarsen - who was avidly following along as the Circle of Fifths topic developed - listened to the progression in question (which I described as a lilting dirge) and wrote in reply:
… All your lilting dirge needs is a bridge, a chorus, some circus show lyrics and hey presto - you’ll have a wonderful Waitsian waltz
That rather sparked my imagination. Over the course of a few weeks I got some ideas forming, made out with some chord progressions (in the minor key, naturally) and found something I liked. Inspired, I fired up Guitar Pro and began creating a multi-track computer-generated digital piece of musical art. There were no real instruments on it at all. None. I did use my guitar to compose and develop parts of it but I then went back to Guitar Pro to create the tracks.
I wanted to create a Waitsian, dystopian, carnival of the grotesque and strange. Much as I thought Brian might appreciate. I had all sorts of ideas scribbled down on bits of paper for lyrics - trying to encapsulate ideas in pithy and comic circus metaphor, euphemism and simile alluding to the ‘state of the world’ etc. I tried and found the task defeating me. Too many little ideas, rhymes, phrases without being able to find the central core around which to arrange them. I set the entire project aside for another day.
Weeks passed. It went neglected. Until, in a what-the-heck moment, I decided to simply post the audio track in the (old) community forum. I thought it somewhat long. I had not worked on mixing levels, panning left-right any of the instruments, nothing like that. I just released it into the public domain. And in doing so I dedicated it to Mr Larsen who had first given me the impetus to create.
I described it as a scrap of an idea in need of a lyric and some further work and refinement and threw it out here thinking that someone might give it a listen and appreciate it for what it was regardless. At some point, maybe, I or some other person would add a lyric and vocal melody.
The working title of this piece was The Circus Is In Town.
As the project was prompted by the concept of borrowed chords, it seems only right to post the chord progressions.
Skip to the Brian Larsen version here.
Skip to the Richard Coles video of Brian’s version here.
Skip to the Roman Shootov remix here.
It’s quite long indeed but I like the idea. Interesting way to go from Cm to C.
Gave the music the vocal it deserved. Equal measures of sinister and wildly trippy. Loved the lyrics. Great collaboration. Digger
)… for a beginner, like me, it’s absolutely outstanding, brilliant and overwhelming! 
Thank you for sharing! I’m speechless, what a great collaboration!
…(under my bed?) 
I’ve just started to look through some of these collaborations having not really ventured here in the past and oh my! this is such a fun lively and yet weirdly frightening production 