We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Butterfly Paradox

from The Slumber With The Key by TZARA

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

  • T-Shirt/Apparel + Digital Album

    White cotton T-shirt hand printed with 'The Slumber with the Key' lino TWEAKED stamp. This stamp is inspired by Nobey Slaaptyd's album art. Available in green/red or black stamps.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Slumber With The Key via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    edition of 40 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    11
    releases

    Get all 11 TZARA releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Restless, The Slumber With The Key, Guess I Tried, The Lost File Lament, Devils & Fiends, Tears In Rain, Space Cats, A New World Would Be Nice, and 3 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $10.20 USD or more (40% OFF)

     

about

Inspired by the taoist parable of the "Butterfly Dream". Attributed to philosopher Zhuangzi, the story goes as follows:

"Once upon a time, I, Zhuangzi, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Zhuangzi. Soon I awakened, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things."

This allegory, coupled with my experiences of hypnagogic & hypnapompic hallucinations, sleep paralysis & false awakenings, prompted many an unanswerable question:

How do I know when I am dreaming? How do I know when I'm awake? How do I distinguish illusion from reality? Is there a distinction at all? When I awake, how do I know my perceived "awakeness" is anything more than another layer of dream?

lyrics

I heard the music so loud
I dreamed but never slept
I’ve got a secret so proud
I screamed but never wept

Did the music hear me?
Did the music hear me?
Am I stuck in a dream?
I don’t know what’s real

Am I just a girl
Dreaming I’m a butterfly?
Or do I have really have wings and
I’ve been dreaming this whole human life?
Am I just a girl
Dreaming I’m a butterfly?
Or do I have really have wings and
I’ve been dreaming this whole human life?

‘Round the old clock it ticks
I wait for truth, unveiled
I feel a little bit sick from
Eating my own tail

Did the music hear me?
Did the music hear me?
Am I stuck in a dream?
I don’t know what’s real

Am I just a girl
Dreaming I’m a butterfly?
Or do I have really have wings and
I’ve been dreaming this whole human life?
Am I just a girl
Dreaming I’m a butterfly?
Or do I have really have wings and
I’ve been dreaming this whole human life?

credits

from The Slumber With The Key, released August 14, 2020
Guitar by Aviwe Sikile
Everything else by Tara Boraine
Mastered by Jumping Back Slash

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

TZARA image

TZARA Cape Town, South Africa

(de)composer

Spinning eternally in limbo between genres, like a piece of toast buttered on both sides

contact / help

Contact TZARA

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like TZARA, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.
listen now