What is the Grand Zombie? It's the name I came up with for a private BBS
I was setting up a few years ago. I was making some ANSI screens for it,
but was at a loss for a name. I happened to be listening to an old Dr.
John album at the time, called Gris Gris. On it is a song called I Walk
On Gilded Splinters, which contains a line where Dr. John refers to
himself as "The Grand Zombie". This was from the time (ca. 1968) when he
performed under the persona of Dr. John Creaux, the Night Tripper, a voodoo
shaman. Anyway, the song got me thinking about how PCs are electronic voodoo
in a way, what with all the arcane mumbo jumbo and incantations you have
to deal with to make them do their magic. They're also a kind of zombie:
the Un-blinking Un-dead. So I went with that concept, planning to change
it eventually. But I never did, and now the BBS has transformed into my
web page. [By the way, the album is excellent and worth seeking out. The
Rolling Stone Record Guide gives it five out of five stars. It's only available
as an import now, but selections from it can be found on several compilations
of Dr. John's work.]
Here's
the lyrics to the song:
Some people
think they jive me
But I know
they must be crazy
Don't see
dey misfortune
Guess they
just too lazy
J'suis the
Grand Zombie
My yellow
belt of (choison?)
Ain't afraid
of no tom cat
Fill my brains
with poison
Walk thru
the fire
Fly thru
the smoke
See my enemy
At the end
of dey rope
Walk on pins
and needles
See what
they can do
Walk on gilded
splinters
With the
king of the Zulu
Roll outta
my coffin
Drink poison
in my chalice
Pride begins
to fade
And y'all
feel my malice
Put gris gris
on your doorstep
Soon you'll
be in the gutter
I can melt
your heart like butter
A-a-and I
can make you stutter
Dr. John bio Gris
Gris
Voodoo
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