how much for your wings?

Apparently written on the 4th of July, 1995, and played 56 times live...this song is unique. It's on Three Snakes and One Charm which is a really cohesive album in that a lot of the songs perfectly transition into one another, but particuarly Bring On, Bring On into How Much For Your Wings?. These two songs seem perfect companions, so much so that they were played together in what is largely considered one of tbc's best live performances, that of 12/30/05 at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island. And actually I will need to talk about that live performance of How Much For Your Wings? in this post.

But first, I said this song is unique and that's my first word to describe it because it begins with Rich's vocals, and they are perfect...in fact, it almost seems like Rich should sing the whole song. But just as Rich starts, Chris comes in and their harmony in this song is off the charts. Chris has often talked about the harmony that only brothers can have and How Much For Your Wings? exemplifies that theory. And I wonder if this song isn't really about the relationship between Chris and Rich-- "If I were you and and you were me / We'd know / And could it be what you perceive / Is wrong? / And what I mean what wrong could be / I don't know." So that harmony was perfect in that Rhode Island show-- it was just amplified, as if every word was meant, and Rich, again, was just touching everyone's soul that night with the way he sang each lyric:

How much for your wings?
How much for your wings?
Well it comes and it goes
How much for your wings?
And it's high and low

How much for your wings?
I can name a price
How much for your wings?
Many forget their pridechorus

If I were you and and you were me
We'd know
And could it be what you perceive
Is wrong?
And what I mean what wrong could be
I don't know
I'm not naïve but I believe
So I may grow

How much for your wings?
The soul you kiss good-bye
How much for your wings?
Watch the stars collide
How does it feel
When you're the only one?