About the Song

Track: The Cape

Length: 3:40

Album: Dublin Blues (1995)

Artist: Guy Clark

Songwriters: Guy Clark / Jim Janosky / Susanna Clark

Favorite part: 

“He did not know he could not fly

So he did”

© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management

Here’s Why I Love It

I love when I come across a song I’d never heard before and it just takes me. That’s the idea that propelled me to start Lyrics I Love. Maybe to provide some moments like that for you, all while sharing the tunes that have done that for me. I’m always amazed by career musicians who have released twenty albums and inspired many other artists before I come along and hear them for the first time. I mean, really hear them for the first time. That’s Guy Clark.

In the song, the verses (or vignettes) progress in such a way that lets you know that the young boy, grown man, and old guy—all the same person—don’t really progress at all. Therein lies the beauty (and sentiment) of the song. He never gave up on taking that leap of faith throughout life. In the words of Clark, simply put, “Well, now this is a song about jumping off the garage.” It’s a song about risk, optimism, and most importantly, embracing the unknown. I think the “leap of faith” can come in many forms—emotional vulnerability, physical changes, etc.—and the listener can pull from their own experience. Everyone's “cape” will change depending on the scenario, but that is the power of metaphor. Ugh, you gotta love that.

It’s interesting. I’ve yet to come across a song that more resembles what I was trying to express in The Gap until now. Clark sings, “Spread your arms and hold your breath / Always trust your cape.”  For me, the “cape”  is what you know in life, whatever that is. It’s all we have to trust at any given point in life. What else do we have? I mean, we never have all the info we need to do anything. Instead of toiling, the character jumps, even with his limited knowledge. He doesn’t let the unknown restrict him. It’s the hope and belief that makes him jump. And the line shared above is a testament to the paradoxical impact of naivete. It stresses the importance of just doing it, and of keeping on doing it, until one day you look back (or up) to realize you’ve been flying all along.

The link below is an HD version below of Clark singing the song with the acoustic guitar (rather than a lyric video.) You can read the lyrics here. The complete story can never be told forward, only backward, and that’s what makes this rendition powerful.

Listen to the song and read the lyrics for full effect.

You can now listen to the Lyrics I Love playlist on Spotify. A new song is added with each edition!

*This article is part of the ongoing Lyrics I Love series: short interpretations of the meaning and story behind one song with lyrics that move me.