Long Long Time Ago - Jack Conte

10 Jun 2011 · 4 min

Watch on YouTube

3:32

The video presents a lyrical, spoken‑word narrative about a solitary man living near a farmhouse, haunted by the devil and the memory of his dead wife. Through a series of vivid, surreal vignettes—cards, stray cats, a broken car, a suicide‑like choking, and a final transformation into dust—the narrator chronicles the man's endless loneliness, his desperate attempts to escape, and his ultimate demise in the Rio Fuerte. Repeated refrains of “long, long, long time, a long time ago” emphasize the timeless, mythic quality of the tale, while the rhythmic “do, do, do” sections add a haunting musical cadence. The piece functions as a poetic meditation on isolation, loss, and the inexorable pull of darkness.

Chapters

3, 2, 1. He lived down by the farmhouse where the stray cats sleep at night. Just a deck of cards, 2 fold-out chairs, and the ghost of his wife. And the devil lived in his doorway, kept out the love and hope. He lived a long, long, long time, a long time ago. He lost one yellow Sunday, When he reached into his throat and pulled out all the people that he had been and tried to choke. But together they overwhelmed him and he couldn't help but explode. He lost a long, long, long time, a long time ago. I asked a man in town and he said he's lonely and his hands, they were strange. And he was all alone. No place to go. You went up in smoke. Do do do do do do. Well, he left in a hurry when the cops kicked in his door. He jumped out the second story, limped down the road and hijacked a car. He stuck his head out the broken window and he howled like the devil's own. He left alone. A long, long time. A long time ago. Last man in town said he's lost. Sir was strange and he was all alone. No place to go. He would not be slow. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do. He flew right past the border. He ditched the car and dyed his hair. He took out his deck of cards for a couple last rounds of solitaire. And he slept just like a baby, though the night was hard and cold. He flew along, long, long time. A long time ago. When he passed through the devil's doorway, well, he knew just where he was. He threw back his head and howled as he resigned. He turned into dust, and they found him in the Rio Fuerte. His body was still afloat. He passed a long, long, long time, a long time ago. He passed a long, long, long time, a long time ago. He passed a long, long, long time ago.