1. |
The Gallivanter
08:06
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I have no destination
no place to call my own
no house or habitation
a hovel or a home
It was the sound of aggravation
that drove me from my rest
the ceaseless abnegation
a knot inside my chest
...and I walk on and on...
The weather cannot stop me
not the rain, or sleet, or snow
a great fire burns within me
and urges me to go
For I am that clambering specter
underneath the trees
a mirthless gallivanter
walking sleepily
...and I walk on and on
How I long to hang my weary head
rest these legs on a feathery bed
how I long to end this journey
on and on...
my body tires
...and all the despair
that I have ever felt in a lifetime
is now gone...
Forever...
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2. |
The Wildest of Rivers
05:45
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I was drifting in the wildest of rivers
I knew not how I arrived
The trees were watching me from overhead
as I floated by
they creaked their indifference to my cries
I longed not for them to reach out for me
to ignore the tears in my eyes
I yearned to stay in the water that flowed over me
(for it) to pull me under and down
I thought that my life was my own to end.
it is not mine
am I destined or damned to stay
in the mire?
or am I to be drawn out into the sea
in kind?
My life belongs to the River
drifting away with the tide...
As I drift away with the tide...
As I drift away with the tide...
As I drift away with the tide...
I was drifting in the wildest of rivers
I knew, then, how I arrived
The trees were watching me from overhead
as I floated by
and creaked their indifference to my sighs
I so wanted them to reach out for me
to see the tears in my eyes
please do not let me be drawn out to the sea
do not let the water pull me under...
I thought that my soul was my own to claim
it is not mine
I am destined and damned to stay
in the mire
I am to be drawn out into the sea
for all time
my soul belongs to the River
drifting away with the tide...
drifting away with the tide...
drifting away with the tide...
drifting away with the tide...
as I drift away with the tide...
as I drift away with the tide...
as I drift away with the tide...
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3. |
Earthen Ground
07:09
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I thank you for when I took my first step,
Though, admittedly, I have taken several back
in the intervening years.
For you are no longer here
to help guide the way
through paths dark and veiled.
On your final journey you have set sail...
I see your spirit drifting
on the wind and through the clouds.
I feel your presence in every drop of rain,
and though you've gone away to leave us here
on earthen ground.
To exist on some other, far-flung plane.
The memories will never die
in spite of my wishes that they would.
Not a day goes by that I do not think of you.
In my dreams, you are very much alive.
...And I awake for sadness to set in...
And now you've gone away
to leave me here without a sound,
to exist along some nonexistent plane.
I see your spirit crawling through the ocean and the dirt.
I feel your presence in every drop of rain.
The moment has passed us by,
That moment when you were still by my side,
and everything you said to me amounts to
a distant echo in my head
And now you're on your way
through the wind and through the clouds
to exist on some far, celestial plane
and all the while the rest of us
left behind, on earthen ground,
feel your presence in every drop of rain
Time keeps passing us by.
I still hope for you to be by my side,
and everything you taught to me amounts to
nothing in the end...
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4. |
||||
If I could, I would hold
onto the time when I was young,
hang it on a wall
and re-frame it
so that the intervening years
would not go to shape me into the man I would become
I would close my eyes...
...and keep my dreams inside
turn back time and tide
keep my dreams inside (never waste them)
keep my dreams inside
If I could, I would fold my hands upon my heart
upon my heart
at the times I have I transgressed without thought
my apologies and my mea culpas
would ring out at the start
of the clouds looming above me
I'll keep my dreams inside
turn back time and tide
I would close my eyes
and pray for rain
I'll keep my dreams inside
Bring my dreams inside
Bring my dreams inside
Bring my dreams inside
I will bring my dreams inside
I would hold your hand
if you deigned to put it in mine
beseech the sky to keep you with me
It is far too cold out there
oh my love, oh my love
the outside world is not for me
I'll keep my dreams inside
I'll turn back time and tide
I will close my eyes
and pray for rain
(I will) keep my dreams inside
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5. |
Intermezzo
02:18
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(instrumental)
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6. |
Tidings
06:31
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Gestures you have made in prayer
towards a forlorn sky
have yet to be answered
by god and man.
Words screamed by spent lungs
from the top of a great mountain
are left unheard
by god and man.
When the smoke clears,
it will not really matter all.
Dreams you were so careful to formulate
(are) left unanswered to the call,
and you sigh “Oh...”
I woke up weeping
in the middle of the night,
my prayers unanswered
by god and man.
My room is barely illuminated
by the moon outside.
It stands triumphant
in the presence of gods and men.
When the sun is risen
it will not even matter at all.
I am but dust
in the middle of the fall,
and I scream “Oh...”
It is only you and I
tangled within these sheets
that can allay every fear
that we have of god and man.
While the sky is falling
it will not even matter at all.
We will be together
once and for all,
crying “Oh...”
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7. |
Night Time Drowning
06:38
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On this auspicious night,
we have come to take you away,
whisk you away from sight,
and save you for another day.
and oh, how you will fight,
scream, scratch, and claw...
As if it were your right
to escape the gaping maw of …
Nighttime falling
There is no escape from
Nighttime falling
There is no escape...
You gave us such a fright
when you would not come willingly.
We had to put our hands on your mouth
to stop you from screaming.
We prayed to whatever beings
or fairweather gods may exist
out there in the great vastation...
to silence you, for...
Nighttime is falling
There is no escape from
the falling of night
'tis time to go sailing...
“But do not be afraid, child. This is for your own good, and for the well-being of others. You will come to love us, in due time...in due time. For the dark waves of the sea do call out for you child...do you not hear their lofty cries? For the clouds that gather overhead, and thunder-claps that wake the dead, are but auspices and portents of what is to come...of what we are about to do...to you.”
On this auspicious night,
we will come to take you away,
whisk you away from sight,
and save you for another day...
Nighttime drowning
Waves are crashing
Nighttime drowning
Everlasting...
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8. |
It Goes Away
08:29
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Just when you think it's part of you,
It goes away...
Slack-jawed, You fall down to your knees,
as If to pray...
You crawl on all fours and fruitlessly
beg it to stay...
It merely touches your cheek softly,
and fades away.
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9. |
Roof and Wall
05:01
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What is your name, ghost?
Who are you and what is your purpose here?
Do you need guidance, a light to show the way
through empty doorways devoid of roof and wall?
Please do not turn to go,
For I long to help you,
and I could swear that the wind blowing around me
was just your presence in my ear.
Who are you, bright star?
I think I know you well.
I saw your light from afar,
and it was shining for me and me alone.
Why do you turn to go?
I can get you to where you need to go,
for I could swear that the rain falling upon me
was just your presence all around.
Please do not turn to go,
for I long to help you,
and I could swear that the fire that protects me
was just your presence all around.
I will go where e'er you go
for this path is mine as well,
from the highest heavens,
at the sounding of the knell.
Please do not turn to go,
for I long to help you,
for I could swear that the wind blowing around me
was just your whispering in my ear
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10. |
Goodbye
07:36
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You left me at the cusp
of true adulthood,
and yet I was far too young to be thrust
into the gaping maw
of a breathing world that I am so afraid of
Goodbye
To the stories in bed
Goodbye
to the actor in my head
Goodbye...
Goodbye...
I wish I could introduce you
to all the good people I have met,
music I have heard, and films I have seen
since then,
but most of all I wish that I had the chance
to say...
Goodbye
To the years you were in my life
Goodbye
to when I call in times of strife
Goodbye...
Goodbye...
I banish every thought of you
for fear that I would be seen to be too vulnerable,
but the very thought of you gives me power.
Your ghost is what I feel behind me.
It gives me the strength to say...
Goodbye
To all the gray hairs in the sink
Goodbye
To conversations over which we would never drink
Goodbye...
Goodbye...
In my heart of hearts I know
that you were at peace in the end.
As you slowly went to sleep,
never to wake up again
and we on the ground
lifted our heads up to the sky.
We dared not say the word...
Goodbye
To the father I love
Goodbye
to the boy down below
Goodbye...
Goodbye...
And for the first time in my life
I feel that I am at a loss for words
but inwardly I am screaming, begging,
crying to be heard.
Yet no sound emits from this throat,
dry from crying.
I refuse to say...
...and eternally I will be waiting for a sign,
a glimmer of recognition within a dying star
in a darkened sky,
but it is one final breath, a shudder,
a forceful closing of the eyes.
I am now prepared to say...
...Goodbye...
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Ghostbound Brooklyn, New York
Blackened torch songs exploring themes of life, loss, grief, wanderings both inner and outer, and the ghosts both friendly and vicious that hover beside us all. Ghostbound has one step in realms otherworldly and another on terra firma.
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