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Theater of the Mind (Single)

by Matthew Bonnan

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about

This is the second single from my project, Once Upon Deep Time (www.matthewbonnan.com/once-upon-deep-time).

See the music video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttQRGuOuYGw

"Theater of the Mind" is about the tiny mammal ancestors we carry within us. Humans are mammals. The first mammals appeared during the Age of Reptiles approximately 200 million years ago (depending on how certain fossils are interpreted). We are descended from tiny, furry, egg-laying ancestors - some of these earliest mammals and close relatives were the size of a paperclip! These tiny ancestors of ours appeared just as the dinosaurs were becoming large plant-eaters and predators. To the predatory dinosaurs, we were tiny snacks!

When we are afraid and cannot see, the parts of our minds necessary for survival in the distant past create a theater of the mind where we imagine the worst. In a world where we sometimes hide our humanity behind screens, if we can't see or hear reality, we often imagine the worst in each other. The song serves to remind ourselves of our shared humanity - don't let the past push us away in the theater of the mind!

lyrics

Not so long ago
In a different time and space
We hid in the shadows
A nocturnal hiding place

While avoiding the daylight hours
When great reptiles ruled the light
A chain of little bones freed from our jaws
Helped us navigate the night

Then imagination took over
From our eyes so nearly blind
With sound we found our way
In the theater of the mind

In the theater of the mind (Still hunted)
In the theater of the mind (Still blind)
Our imagination runs astray
In the theater of the mind

In the darkness you awake
But you’re not sure you know why
You listen while your heart pounds
And your eyes strain for a sign

In those moments your mind races
Flung back in deep time’s haze
You’re just a tiny creature
Hiding from a reptile’s gaze

When imagination took over
From our eyes so nearly blind
With sound we found our way
In the theater of the mind

In the theater of the mind (Still hunted)
In the theater of the mind (Still blind)
Our imagination runs astray
In the theater of the mind

In a past riddled with danger
Just trying to stay alive
Sound and imagination
Were keys that helped us survive

But if you don’t see or hear reality
You imagine the worst in me
If we place our trust in what isn’t there
We all become the enemy

In the theater of the mind (Still hunted)
In the theater of the mind (Still blind)
Our imagination runs astray
In the theater of the mind

In the theater of the mind (Reach out)
In the theater of the mind (Open your eyes)
Don’t let the past push us away
In the theater of the mind

credits

released August 12, 2022
Music & lyrics by Matthew Bonnan.

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Matthew Bonnan Hammonton, New Jersey

I am a dinosaur paleontologist and singer/songwriter. My songs focus on evolution and our connection to the tree of life.

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