Oktober is an unknown songwriter who has been writing lyrics, poetry, and other forms of verse for quite some time. A little over, a decade ago he wrote a song entitled “Came a Pale Rider” which was about another tornado that struck Alabama.“I was working outside of an area hit by storms and passed by storm damage everyday for a while.
"I was in a band then. So when I got home I wrote two songs about my feelings about it,” explained the songwriter.
“Came a Pale Rider” comes the old saying “behold a pale horse” and Oktober expressed that his love for Clint Eastwood movies had a bit to do with that, as well as his own biblical awareness.
“I would rather not delve into the meaning of the song,” said Oktober. “The lyrics can be taken in many ways. So I would rather anyone who hears it to interpret it their own way.”
The song was originally written for a punk/metal band, Oktober was then fronting but was scratched when the band broke up.
He then lent his song to singer/songwriter Michael Ray Britt for an album project recorded in Nashville. Britt transformed the original version into an old style country/western song.
“When I heard Michael’s version I immediately fell in love with it,” explained Oktober. “Michael actually recorded 3 of my songs and ‘Came a Pale Rider’ was my favorite of those. When I decided to lend the song to Rage Against the Wind I envisioned it the way Michael recorded it.”
Britt however did not lay down the guitars for the RATW version. Instead producer David Coffin came up with an idea that changed the shape of the song, yet again. After Oktober entered the studio to lay down vocals on a metronome Coffin invited guitarist Justin Keys, who was already a part of the RATW project, to come up with something more improvisational. After Keys discovered a different root note from the original version he began playing guitar over Oktober’s original vocals.
“When the producers were jumping up and down screaming that’s it, I must admit it felt right," said Oktober. "I decided to lay my vocals again, and it matched perfectly. This process was pure magic. This was the product of enthusiasm and creativity combining in a brief moment to make something wonderful.”
Oktober made some lyric changes for the RATW version of the song. The original chorus was changed completely.
“The message is exactly the same, but I thought the language of the original version was way too wordy for this project,” he explained.
Another difference between the original and the present version is in the second bar of the second verse. In the new version, Oktober repeats “came a pale rider with the scent of rain, came a pale rider with the soul of Cain.” In the original those lines were verses from the Holy Bible that Oktober removed in order to maintain ambiguity for the song’s intended meaning.
“The bible verses sum up the entire idea and because I know some people are easily offended I decided to maintain some ambiguity,” said Oktober. “I don’t think the song should be offensive. It certainly holds a very spiritual meaning and is very motivating, even in its original intent, and because I believe in Christ it is a Christian message, but people have different opinions about what our faith should or should not be. I am no different than anyone else. I believe one way and that reflected strongly in the original version. In the new version, you honestly have to know me to know what the song is really suggesting. Plus nobody wants to be preachy in any song. I love the original but it was very preachy in parts. Who am I to preach to anyone?”
Oktober submitted his song but will not take credit under his birth name. He states that he provided the track only because it was for this cause and the song was about the very thing Alabamians are going through right now.
“I gave up the idea of being in a band and that whole rock star dream thing before I was legally allowed to purchase an adult beverage. I am too far past that idea, but for a brief time it was part of me and this song came out of that. I hope people like it, and maybe I will perform it live but if so, I want people to understand I am not a musical act just a guy with a song.”
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