Virgin of the Birds‘ “I Fought a Turk” makes its entrance on simple piano chords and quite possibly the gentlest strum ever put to record. The I-V progression in D Major is one the most-used in popular music; having 12 semitones in our equal temperament system only leaves so much tonal variety, so it’s what one does with what one has that sets a piece of music apart from the rest. Jon Rooney knows this and works hard to set his music apart. I became a fan with the release of the “Two Horses EP” by Jon’s former band, Morning Spy, some 14 years ago this month, and then—as now—it’s what Jon did with what he had.
Jon has an everyman voice, and at times he veers close to Bejar territory with his almost-conversational approach; on “I Fought a Turk,” these qualities serve him well as he shares what, for me, is the archetypal Rooney lyric—a story that surprises as it unfolds. You may think you’ve heard parts of it before somewhere and you may even think you know where it’s going, but you’re wrong. It’s storytelling done right, from the awkward fight itself to a command to God (in both his English and Hebrew names, lest he be not fluent in all languages) to nourishing the Goddess of Love with the biggest surprise of all.
Once the final line is delivered, the song shows matt pond pa how to properly execute a lilting guitar outro and adds a bit of strings and synth to the arrangement for good measure. Calling “I Fought a Turk” dreamy is shortchanging it and calling it epic is overselling the point. The song exists comfortably and humbly in a space between such words.