This week I recorded a song with Matt and Donna Schubbe. It’s about the French inventor Jacques de Vaucanson, who invented a bunch of great things but is best known for his “digesting duck.” Don’t ask me why Matt decided to write about a guy who made a pooping robot duck. But regardless, it’s a pretty great song.

Canard Digérateur
by Matt and Donna Schubbe

My interests were seen as a fad for the wealthy
A donation or two couldn’t hurt
But when I finished the job they all called me profane
My patrons dismantled my work

So I figured a way not to ruffle their feathers
Or set them out on a crusade
But a bird in the hand is worth more than I bargained
I’ve given myself that in spades
But it won’t stop now because the

Gears keep turning, that is all they want from me
I work so hard but they still hold on to fantasy
That artificial beast that got in my way
Mechanical fraud that will follow me to the grave
But I refuse to sit still
And I cry foul at your shadow

Quickly people took note of this marvelous invention
And no they could not understand
That when the creature would eat and deposit the remnants
It was trickery and slight of hand

And everyone talked of my next innovation
Intently while holding their breath
But when it arrived they proclaimed it inferior
And I was wrapped in their detest
And so I let the

Gears keep turning, that is all they want from me
I work so hard but all they want is fantasy
That artificial beast that got in my way
Mechanical fraud that will follow me to the grave
But I refuse to sit still
And I cry foul at your shadow

The closer that I get
To perfecting my invention
The further I push flesh and blood away
As I get closer
I isolate myself
But it wasn’t my intention
I only want to help
So the

Gears keep turning, that is all that’s left for me
I work so hard towards achieving my own destiny
The work of my hands is valuable still
I’ll fund it myself if I have to then I will
Cause I refuse to sit still
I’ve gotta press on because the

Gears keep turning, there is never rest for me
I can’t stop now I’m closer than I’ll ever be
Society’s ills are problems to resolve
A puzzle so complex that I’ll die before it’s solved
But I will never sit still
I’ll never sit still because the

Gears keep turning…

Matt and I were in a band together in high school, and it’s been fun seeing him get back into songwriting over the past year. Not that we didn’t have some good songs back in the day, but man, his latest songs and vocals have blown those old ones out of the water. This summer, Matt and Donna entered the third SpinTunes songwriting competition, and they went on to win the whole thing! Here’s their winning song:

I would write more about the process, but I’ve been a little sleep-deprived lately. So I think I’ll leave you with this awesome behind the scenes video my roommate Jeff Schwinghammer made. It has probably the best animation of a Vaucanson Duck you’ll ever see…