LeBron's Lament

I've been an NBA junkie since the 1991 Finals, when Jordan's Bulls won their first championship. Basketball was the second sport I started playing when I was a little kid after soccer, but I was immediately better at hoops. I nearly ruptured my patella tendon when I was eleven going up for a rebound--that's how into it I was.

It's possible that I may like the game even more now. The league is coming off its most-watched, highest-rated season since MJ left the league (starting to see how important he was?). Of course, now we have a potential lockout looming, certain to alienate all those new fans who just got onboard...

Love him or hate him, LeBron James is almost solely responsible for the league's recent rise in popularity. His persona is polarizing, but his game is undeniably amazing. Personally, I'm not a fan of the way he acts, on or off the court. But as a devout fan of the game of basketball, his skill set is unlike anything I've ever seen; even His Airness couldn't bowl through defenders to finish with the softest of touches at the rim.


I didn't mean to write a song about LeBron. I was actually working on a tune about Russell Westbrook, all star point guard of the Oklahoma City Thunder (my favorite team). They were having a bit of trouble closing out the Memphis Grizzlies in the West Semis (which they eventually won in seven games), so I envisioned the song as a pop pep rally in my head. The song didn't materialize the way I planned, but they won the series anyway. As I was plunking away at some chords, the pastel drawing I'd done of LBJ caught my eye, I shifted to a new meter, and within an hour the structure of "LeBron's Lament" was as solid as the exoskeleton of a horseshoe crab.

As with most people who watched and enjoyed this past NBA season, I was rooting against the Miami Heat. I wrote and recorded this song during the second round of the playoffs, when the Heat were barreling through the defending conference champion Boston Celtics. Once they finished off the C's and moved on to the top-seeded Bulls (whom they also destroyed), I was beginning to think that my tune was somehow fueling the rally, giving LeBron clutch performance after clutch performance, almost guiding them to the Finals with no real obstacle. If they had won the title, I would've blamed this song, and cursed its existence. Instead, they blew it! They blew it big time! Now the song lives up to its title, a true lament. LeBron knows better than anybody how important it is to his legacy to become an NBA champion: "I realize I need a ring." I can't believe my good fortune in how this all turned out!

In case you hadn't noticed, every Eastern Phoebes release thus far has included a song about a professional sports figure (Dan Majerle, Dusty Baker, Kevin Durant). I try not to limit myself to basketball (Dusty), but it's so easy to write about the game I love. I plan on continuing this melodic/athletic tradition for all future releases. LeBron will get his ring someday, it's inevitable. Maybe this tune will somehow get stuck in his head and rattle him for a few more seasons. One can only hope.

LeBron's Lament by easternphoebes