Here’s the genesis of the lyrics for “Pay for My Sins.” I had just finished recording the instrumental parts and needed to choose a suitable subject. I started looking at some old and new video game trailers, but I couldn’t find the right plot. Then I began listening to some old Commodore 64 video game theme songs, and at one point, I saw the cover of “Samurai Warrior,” a video game inspired by the deeds of Usagi Yojimbo, created and drawn by Stan Sakai… and that’s when I had an epiphany! The lyrics would be about Usagi Miyamoto!
The character is a rabbit (Usagi means rabbit) who offers his services as a temporary bodyguard (Yojimbo means bodyguard), provided the client doesn’t violate the protagonist’s creed and values.
Usagi was once an army commander, but during a battle, his lord was surrounded and decapitated. Driven by impetuous fury, Usagi managed to save his lord’s head, but shame had already fallen upon him. To redeem himself, he chose the path of discovering the secrets of the sword, deciding to become a master swordsman and travel the world, offering his services to those in need, just like Musashi Miyamoto. Musashi Miyamoto is the real-life figure who inspired the entire series and is considered the greatest swordsman in Japanese history!
Usagi embarks on this journey to atone for the guilt of not saving his lord’s life. In every adventure, he will always strive to fight according to his beliefs and Bushido, demonstrating courage, resolve, loyalty, honesty, and cunning, just like a true Samurai!
In the course of his adventures, he will find other battle companions, adversaries, ruthless enemies, other ronin like him who have become wandering monks, priests, peasants, and mercenaries. From each encounter, souls will emerge who no longer have anything to do with what they were during the war; people who have finally found their way and are no longer afraid of death because they know they made mistakes but feel fulfilled and indebted to fate, which, despite their actions, rewarded them with appreciation and satisfaction in dedicating themselves to others.
“Pay for My Sins” is exactly what this means: “I did actions that made me feel bad, that went against my nature, that kept me awake at night, but now I have found my way, which is to put my qualities and my life at the service of others who have a real need and noble goals, and I will be ruthless towards those who oppress honest people!”
Some interesting facts about Usagi are that he fights with two weapons: a katana and a sort of wakizashi, a short sword that was once carried in case of home ambushes because ceilings were too low, and the katana risked getting stuck or hitting the roof.
Of course, one could also fight in suwari waza (techniques performed kneeling and on tiptoes), but one had to be surgical because the risk of touching the ceiling was always present.
Another interesting fact concerns his being a Samurai (the word means “one who serves”); he is one in the Taoist manner! My sensei, Gianni Cesaratto, always said that Samurai were instilled with the belief that “life and death are the same thing”! I didn’t understand, and only after much reading did I find an explanation, especially after reading the Tao Te Ching. In Taoism, it is believed that each of us is made of cosmic energy and that once life ends, this energy reunites with a matrix located at the center of the universe in infinite life cycles, and this is practically the concept of eternal life. In this light, life is eternal; only the form you will take changes. So whether you live or die, only the form will change, but the energy will continue to exist forever. Thinking this way pushes the warrior to act, to have no doubts, to throw themselves into conflict fearlessly, confident that no matter what happens, nothing will ever be lost!
Then maybe there’s another more sensible explanation, but for now, this is what I’ve found.
See you next time, and a big thank you to Stan Sakai for creating such a magnificent character.