Poetry and Lyrics

[Byron In Exile]

King Crimson: In the Wake of Poseidon

Peter Sinfield


Plato's spawn cold ivyed eyes
Snare truth in bone and globe
Harlequins coin pointless games
Sneer jokes in parrot's robe
Two women weep, Dame Scarlet Screen
Sheds sudden theatre rain
Whilst dark in dream the Midnight Queen
Knows every human pain

In air, fire, earth and water
World on the scales
Air, fire, earth and water
Balance of change
World on the scales

Bishop's kings spin judgement's blade
Scratch "Faith" on nameless graves
Harvest hags hoard ash and sand
Rack rope and chain for slaves
Who fireside fear fermented words
Then rear to spoil the feast
Whilst in the aisle the madman smiles
To him it matters least

Heroes' hands drain stones for blood
To whet the scaling knife
Magi blind with visions light
Net death in dread of life
Their children kneel in Jesus till
They learn the price of nails
Whilst all around our mother earth
Waits balanced on the scales
 

 

[Angeline]

Re: King Crimson: In the Wake of Poseidon

Peter Sinfield


Plato's spawn cold ivyed eyes
Snare truth in bone and globe
Harlequins coin pointless games
Sneer jokes in parrot's robe
Two women weep, Dame Scarlet Screen
Sheds sudden theatre rain
Whilst dark in dream the Midnight Queen
Knows every human pain

In air, fire, earth and water
World on the scales
Air, fire, earth and water
Balance of change
World on the scales

Bishop's kings spin judgement's blade
Scratch "Faith" on nameless graves
Harvest hags hoard ash and sand
Rack rope and chain for slaves
Who fireside fear fermented words
Then rear to spoil the feast
Whilst in the aisle the madman smiles
To him it matters least

Heroes' hands drain stones for blood
To whet the scaling knife
Magi blind with visions light
Net death in dread of life
Their children kneel in Jesus till
They learn the price of nails
Whilst all around our mother earth
Waits balanced on the scales
 

I think that's my favorite Crimson album. That and Islands.

 

[Angeline]

I lied.

This isn't a lyric, it's a poem I wrote a while back for John Lennon. But. *He* wrote lyrics and if anyone were to write music to it (ahem) it *could be a lyric. Anyway, I told tungtied I'd post it. It's his fault.

John

He sang in vanity, no glasses,
head set forward, knee-bent
soft defiance, sharp eyes
seeking answers we know
he saw only blurs

His mouth stretched thin
around the words he must
have sung those songs
thousands of times
but when he looked at Paul
or George the smile
would reach his eyes.
He was real for them.

Bending to his harp inward
focused on the multitasks,
harmonic whine, lips dancing,
rhythm strums, his beating foot
lost above the screams.

But Oh the voice that rolled
out of that man past strong teeth,
close-set, one a little crooked

Oh the voice that spread
beyond his pointed chin
wrapped around the microphone
and me as easily as breath

drawing in deep that honest
voice awoke my heart
and still so many years
from then the raw and simple plea
of him trying to hide his love
away unlocked my heart.

Love was all I needed
then and evermore.

 

[Guest]

That's lovely Ange - I hope you get the tunes to match, lemme know.


Valparaiso

Sting

Chase the dog star
Over the sea
Home where my true love is waiting for me
Rope the south wind
Canvas the stars
Harness the moonlight
So she can safely go
'Round the Cape Horn to Valparaiso

Red the port light
Starboard the green
How will she know of the devils I've seen
Cross the sky, star of the sea
Under the moonlight, there she can safely go
'Round the Cape Horn to Valparaiso

And every road I walked would take me
Down to the sea
With every broken promise in my sack
And every love would always send the
Ship of my heart
Over the rolling sea

If I should die
And water's my grave
She'll never know if I'm damned or I'm saved
See the ghost fly over the sea
Under the moonlight, there she can safely go
'Round the Cape Horn to Valparaiso

 

[Tathagata]

Re: I lied.

This isn't a lyric, it's a poem I wrote a while back for John Lennon. But. *He* wrote lyrics and if anyone were to write music to it (ahem) it *could be a lyric. Anyway, I told tungtied I'd post it. It's his fault.

John

He sang in vanity, no glasses,
head set forward, knee-bent
soft defiance, sharp eyes
seeking answers we know
he saw only blurs

His mouth stretched thin
around the words he must
have sung those songs
thousands of times
but when he looked at Paul
or George the smile
would reach his eyes.
He was real for them.

Bending to his harp inward
focused on the multitasks,
harmonic whine, lips dancing,
rhythm strums, his beating foot
lost above the screams.

But Oh the voice that rolled
out of that man past strong teeth,
close-set, one a little crooked

Oh the voice that spread
beyond his pointed chin
wrapped around the microphone
and me as easily as breath

drawing in deep that honest
voice awoke my heart
and still so many years
from then the raw and simple plea
of him trying to hide his love
away unlocked my heart.

Love was all I needed
then and evermore.

I believe in modern day prophets, holy men, seers, whatever.
Had Jesus , Buddha, Mohammed, Yaweh, come now he'd be a rock star
John Lennon was one
Bob Marley was one..
This poem shows I'm not alone in my belief
beautiful Ange
as always

Namaste'

 

[Angeline]

The Streets That Time Walk
Son Volt (Jay Farrar)

The beliefs from the status quo picture
drop down like from a drip dispenser
Leaving too many paths that lead
to one-way talk with only the darkness
Sun breaks on a buffer-zone madness
fleeing ghosts for all the wrong reasons
With apathetic eyes to the future
complacent to the last broken pieces


No conspiracy to deny you or push you astray
You've withstood the streets that time walks
Still treading on a hallowed gone heyday.

Your grievance is wrapped
in just simple surviving
Points raised, points abandoned;
the big dream is hollow
Hereafters have not been chosen;
the flame will find the oxygen
Stopgap measures down -
just take it for another spin

No conspiracy to deny you or push you astray
You've withstood the streets that time walks
Still treading on a hallowed gone heyday.

Walked into a field of vision;
coldhearted steps of perception
Closer to other eyes
as distant stood the fall
Homesick along with a hometown state -
pack it up or pack it in
Promise of days gone past
is a foregone situation

No conspiracy to deny you or push you astray
You've withstood the streets that time walks
Still treading on a hallowed gone heyday.

 

[Angeline]

Way Down Watson
Son Volt (Jay Farrar)

Put whiskey on the wounds
salt the glass and say goodbye.
No feel good schemes to bring it back
just falling brick and broken glass--
wrecking ball

Wrecking-ball operator
Twenty years pulling the lever
And these windows shield the cold
From the weather of my soul

And feel the heart-strings sinking fast
Another treasure found, another tumbling down

I protect my ears and eyes
From the dust and noise
The word comes down to the bitter end
The diesel hums; the cycle spins

When we meet on that hard hat ground
Just a photograph, no one else around
Words to live by, just goes to show
Some day we all gotta go

And feel the heart-strings sinking fast
Another treasure found, another tumbling down

 

[Angeline]

Sad and Deep As You
Dave Mason

Lips that are as warm could be
Lips that speak too soon
Lips that tell a story
Sad and deep as you

Smile that's warm as summer sun
Smile that gets you through
Smile that tells a story
Sad and deep as you

Eyes that are the windows
Eyes that are the view
Eyes that tell a story
Sad and deep as you

Tears that are unspoken words
Tears that are the truth
Tears that tell a story
Sad and deep as you

 

[Angeline]

Gospel Rocks Baby!

People Get Ready
Curtis Mayfield

People get ready
There's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage you just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesel comin'
Don't need no ticket you just thank the Lord

People get ready
There's a rain to Jordan
Picking up passengers from coast to coast
Faith is key
Open the doors and board them
There's hope for all among the love the most

There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just to save his own soul
Have pity on those whose choices grow thinner
There ain't no hiding place from the Kingdom's throne

People get ready
There's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage you just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesel comin'
Don't need no ticket you just thank the Lord

There's a train there's a train there's a train comin' people
There's a train there's a train there's a train comin' people
There's a train there's a train there's a train comin' people

Just get on board

There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just to save his own soul
Have pity on those whose choices grow thinner
There ain't no hiding place from the Kingdom's throne

 

[tungtied2u]

Leon Russell

TIGHT ROPE
Leon Russell

I'm up on the tightrope , one sides hate and one is hope
It's a circus game with you and me.
I'm up on the tightwire , linked by life and the funeral pyre
But the tophat on my head is all you see.

And the wire seems to be the only place for me
A comedy of errors and I'm falling
Like a rubber neck giraffe, you look into my past
Well, baby you're just to blind to see.

I'm up in the spotlight, oh does it feel right
The altitude seems to really get to me.
I'm up on the tightwire linked by life and the funeral pyre
Putting on a show for you to see.

 

[tungtied2u]

Doctor John

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY WITH YOU

We could drink until we get real high,
try to drink every bar dry.
Taste so good that high price stuff
you never know when you've had enough.
But there is nothin' I would rather do
than to dance, dance the night away with you.

We could talk the whole damn night away
'cos we got so much to say.
I could talk holes in your head,
remember every word I said.
But there is nothin' I would rather do
than to dance, dance the night away with you.

We could climb a mountain high
or walk a valley deep
or we could get stoned
and fall off a lover's leap.

We could talk the whole darnn night away
'cos we got so much to say.
I could talk holes in your head,
remember every word I said.
But there is nothin' I would rather do
than to dance, dance the night away with you.

There is nothin' I would rather do
than to dance, dance the night away with you.
There is nothin' I would rather do
than to dance, dance the night away with you.
There is nothing I would rather do
than to dance, dance the night away with you.
- Mac Rebennack & Doc Pomus

 

[tungtied2u]

Written by D. John/ covered by

Widespread Panic I Walk On Guilded Splinters lyrics
Some people think they jive me,
But I know they must be crazy
Don't see their misfortune,
I guess they're just too lazy
Je suie le grand zombie
My yellow belt of choisen
Ain't afraid of no tomcat,
Fill my brains with poison
Walk through the fire,
Fly through the smoke
See my enemy,
At the end of their rope
Walk on pins and neeedles
See what they can do
Walk on guilded splinters
With the King of the Zulu
Walk to me, get it, come, come
Walk on guilded splinters
Walk to me, get it, come, come
Walk on guilded splinters
Till I burn up.
Till I burn up.
Till I burn up.
Till I burn up.
I roll out my coffin
Drink poison in my chalice
Pride begins to fade
And you all feel my malice
Put gris-gris on your doorstep
And soon you be in the gutter
Melt your heart like butter,
Ah- ah- ah I can make you stutter
Walk to me, get it, come, come
Walk on guilded splinters
Walk to me, get it, come, come
Walk on guilded splinters
Till I burn up.
Till I burn up.
Till I burn up.
Till I burn up.

 

[Angeline]

For Maria!

This is a great song that ee played for me and I just love. It's sort of alt country, but has the most raucus bass line. Cheri Knight used to be with a band called the Blood Oranges. This song has some very cool metaphors in it.

Black Eyed Susie
Cheri Knight

Under the ice and under the snow
in these fields where you used to grow
over yonder, somethings callin my name.

In a straight line I rake the rows,
I bent way over and I dug your holes,
now I hardly remember the cold in my fingers.

I hold you in my muddy hands,
and dig you with my spade.
I done all a girl can do
to get you in the ground again.

Now I got myself a saint,
flowerin a golden row.
I am faithful but I am stained.
Black Eyed Susie got me workin in the rain.

This devotion its gonna hurt,
one more year with my hands in the dirt,
and I’ll be running from mud as the blossoms
with red wings that flame.

The weary ones are moving away,
Here I sit and here I’ll stay
cause when I see your dark eyes,
I start to shiver and shake.

Now I got myself a saint,
flowerin a golden row.
I am faithful but I am stained.
Black Eyed Susie got me workin in the rain.

And in the end I’ll have to plow you under
Black Eyed Susie why?
Black Eyed Susie why?

I love to see your upturned face
reaching for the sun.
I am faithful but I am stained
Black Eyed Susie, got me workin in the rain.

Black Eyed Susie.

I’m setting out all the pretty flowers.

 

[Angeline]

Passionate Kisses
Lucinda Williamss

Is it too much to ask
I want a comfortable bed that won't hurt my back
Food to fill me up
And warm clothes and all that stuff

Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have all of this, and
Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa ohh oh
Passionate kisses from you

Is it much to demand
I want a full house and a rock and roll band
Pens that won't run out of ink
And cool quiet and time to think

Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have all of this, and
Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa ohh oh
Passionate kisses from you

Do I want too much
Am I going overboard to want that touch
I shouted out to the night
"Give me what I deserve, 'cause it's my right"

Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have this
Shouldn't I have all of this, and
Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa ohh oh
Passionate kisses from you

Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa ohh oh
Passionate kisses from you

 

[The Mutt]

Kill my landlord...

Jungleland
By Bruce Springsteen

The rangers had a homecoming in Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine over the Jersey state line
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The Rat pulls into town rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance and disappear down Flamingo Lane

Well the Maximum Lawman run down Flamingo chasing the Rat and the barefoot
girl
And the kids round here look just like shadows always quiet, holding hands
From the churches to the jails tonight all is silence in the world
As we take our stand down in Jungleland

The midnight gang's assembled and picked a rendezvous for the night
They'll meet `neath that giant Exxon sign that brings this fair city light
Man there's an opera out on the Turnpike
There's a ballet being fought out in the alley
Until the local cops, Cherry Tops, rips this holy night
The street's alive as secret debts are paid
Contacts made, they vanished unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switch-blades hustling for the record machine
The hungry and the hunted explode into rock'n'roll bands
That face off against each other out in the street down in Jungleland

In the parking lot the visionaries dress in the latest rage
Inside the backstreet girls are dancing to the records that the D.J. plays
Lonely-hearted lovers struggle in dark corners
Desperate as the night moves on, just a look and a whisper, and they're gone

Beneath the city two hearts beat
Soul engines running through a night so tender
In a bedroom locked
In whispers of soft refusal and then surrender
In the tunnels uptown
The Rat's own dream guns him down as shots echo down them hallways in the night
No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light

Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz
Between flesh and what's fantasy
And the poets down here
Don't write nothing at all, they just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand
but they wind up wounded, not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland

 

[lipsticksunset1984]

London, You're a Lady

by Shane MacGowan


London, you're a lady
laid out before my eyes.
Your heart of gold, it pulses
between your scarred-up thighs.

Your eyes are full of sadness,
red busses skirt your hem.
Your headdress is a ring of lights
but I would not follow them.

Your architects were madmen,
your builders sane but drunk.
Among your faded jewels
shine acid house and punk.

You are a scarlet lady,
your streets run red with blood.
My darling, they have used you,
and covered you with mud.

Deep down in your womb, my love,
I drank my quart of sin
while chinamen played cards and draughts
and knocked back Mickey Finns.

Your piss is like a river,
its scent is beer and gin.
Your hell is in the summer
and you blossom in the spring.

September is your purgatory
and Christmas is your heaven,
and when the stinking streets of summer
are washed away by rain,
at the dark end of a lonely street
is where you'll find my pain.

It's then your eyes light up, my love,
and sparkle once again.

 

[tungtied2u]

Sade

Smooth Operator"

He's laughing with another girl
And playing with another heart.
Placing high stakes, making hearts ache.
He's loved in seven languages.
Diamond nights and ruby lights, high in the sky.
Heaven help him, when he falls.

Diamond life, lover boy.
We move in space with minimum waste and maximum joy.
City lights and business nights.
When you require streetcar desire for higher heights.

No place for beginners or sensitive hearts
When sentiment is left to chance.
No place to be ending but somewhere to start.

No need to ask.
He's a smooth operator,
smooth operator,
smooth operator,
smooth operator.

Coast to coast, LA to Chicago, western male.
Across the north and south, to Key Largo, love for sale.

Face to face, each classic case.
We shadow box and double cross,
Yet need the chase.

A license to love, insurance to hold.
Melts all your memories and change into gold.
His eyes are like angels but his heart is cold.

No need to ask.
He's a smooth operator,
smooth operator,
smooth operator,
smooth operator.

Coast to coast, LA to Chicago, western male.
Across the north and south, to Key Largo, love for sale.

Smooth operator,
smooth operator,
smooth operator,
smooth operator,
smooth operator...

 

[Angeline]

Here's a good one

to keep in mind on a Monday morning.



Secret O' Life
(James Taylor)

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Any fool can do it
There ain't nothing to it
Nobody knows how we got to
The top of the hill
But since we're on our way down
We might as well enjoy the ride

The secret of love is in opening up your heart
It's okay to feel afraid
But don't let that stand in your way
'Cause anyone knows that love is the only road
And since we're only here for a while
Might as well show some style
Give us a smile

Isn't it a lovely ride
Sliding down
Gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It's just a lovely ride

Now the thing about time is that time
Isn't really real
It's just your point of view
How does it feel for you
Einstein said he could never understand it all
Planets spinning through space
The smile upon your face
Welcome to the human race

Some kind of lovely ride
I'll be sliding down
I'll be gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It's just a lovely ride

Isn't it a lovely ride
Sliding down
Gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It's just a lovely ride

Now the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time

 

[Maria2394]

Re: For Maria!

This is a great song that ee played for me and I just love. It's sort of alt country, but has the most raucus bass line. Cheri Knight used to be with a band called the Blood Oranges. This song has some very cool metaphors in it.

Black Eyed Susie
Cheri Knight

Under the ice and under the snow
in these fields where you used to grow
over yonder, somethings callin my name.

In a straight line I rake the rows,
I bent way over and I dug your holes,
now I hardly remember the cold in my fingers.

I hold you in my muddy hands,
and dig you with my spade.
I done all a girl can do
to get you in the ground again.

Now I got myself a saint,
flowerin a golden row.
I am faithful but I am stained.
Black Eyed Susie got me workin in the rain.

This devotion its gonna hurt,
one more year with my hands in the dirt,
and I’ll be running from mud as the blossoms
with red wings that flame.

The weary ones are moving away,
Here I sit and here I’ll stay
cause when I see your dark eyes,
I start to shiver and shake.

Now I got myself a saint,
flowerin a golden row.
I am faithful but I am stained.
Black Eyed Susie got me workin in the rain.

And in the end I’ll have to plow you under
Black Eyed Susie why?
Black Eyed Susie why?

I love to see your upturned face
reaching for the sun.
I am faithful but I am stained
Black Eyed Susie, got me workin in the rain.

Black Eyed Susie.

I’m setting out all the pretty flowers.

thank you angeline now I wanna hear it!!

 

[eagleyez]

Re: Re: For Maria!

thank you angeline now I wanna hear it!!

hi Mairia-

it rocks as well as weaves a story.

You'd love it im sure.

now, if you lean your ear out the window and I crank the system to warpseed-you might get a glimpse.

Its on a disc called "Alt Country-Exposed Roots"

1999 k-tel records

www.ktel.com

tons of cool alternative americana represented here.

 

[The Mutt]

If Love Is a Red Dress (Hang Me in Rags)
Maria McKee

My heart is empty.
Your eyes are dark.
Once we were hungry,
Now we are full.
These chains that bind us,
Can't beat these chains.
If love is shelter,
I'm gonna walk in the rain.

You were my angel.
Now, you are real.
So like a stranger,
Colder than steel.
The morning after,
You know what you bring.
If love is a red dress,
Well, hang me in rags.

Away.
There goes the fairy tale.
Lord, ain't it a shame?
In all this comfort,
I can't take the strain.

If we played even,
I'd be your queen.
But someone was cheatin'.
And it wasn't me.
I've laid it on the table,
You held something back.
If love is Aces,
Give me the Jack.

 

[Miss Oatlash]

Written In The Stars

Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Tim Rice

I am here to tell you we can never meet again
Simple really, isn't it, a word or two and then
A lifetime of not knowing where or how or why or when
You think of me or speak of me or wonder what befell
The someone you once loved so long ago so well

Never wonder what I'll feel as living shuffles by
You don't have to ask me and I need not reply
Every moment of my life from now until I die
I will think or dream of you and fail to understand
How a perfect love can be confounded out of hand

Is it written in the stars
Are we paying for some crime
Is that all that we are good for
Just a stretch of mortal time

Is this God's experiment
In which we have no say
In which we're given paradise
But only for a day

Nothing can be altered, there is nothing to decide
No escape, no change of heart, no anyplace to hide
You are all I'll ever want, but this I am denied
Sometimes in my darkest thoughts, I wish I'd never learned
What it is to be in love and have that love returned

 

[tungtied2u]

Talking Heads

-----------------
And She Was
------------------

And she was lying in the grass
And she could hear the highway breathing
And she could see a nearby factory
She's making sure she is not dreaming
See the lights of a neighbor's house
Now she's starting to rise
Take a minute to concentrate
And she opens up her eyes

The world was moving and she was right there with it (and she was)
The world was moving she was floating above it (and she was) and she was

And she was drifting through the backyard
And she was taking off her dress
And she was moving very slowly
Rising up above the earth
Moving into the universe
Drifting this way and that
Not touching ground at all
Up above the yard

CHORUS

She was glad about it... no doubt about it
She isn't sure where she's gone
No time to think about what to tell them
No time to think about what she's done
And she was

And she was looking at herself
And things were looking like a movie
She had a pleasant elevation
She's moving out in all directions

CHORUS

Joining the world of missing persons (and she was)
Missing enough to feel alright (and she was)

 

[Angeline]

Re: Re: For Maria!

thank you angeline now I wanna hear it!!

Can you hear it? Ok, we're not playing it now. lol. But soon--I'm in a raucus happy music mood.

 

[Angeline]

Re: Talking Heads

-----------------
And She Was
------------------

And she was lying in the grass
And she could hear the highway breathing
And she could see a nearby factory
She's making sure she is not dreaming
See the lights of a neighbor's house
Now she's starting to rise
Take a minute to concentrate
And she opens up her eyes

The world was moving and she was right there with it (and she was)
The world was moving she was floating above it (and she was) and she was

And she was drifting through the backyard
And she was taking off her dress
And she was moving very slowly
Rising up above the earth
Moving into the universe
Drifting this way and that
Not touching ground at all
Up above the yard

CHORUS

She was glad about it... no doubt about it
She isn't sure where she's gone
No time to think about what to tell them
No time to think about what she's done
And she was

And she was looking at herself
And things were looking like a movie
She had a pleasant elevation
She's moving out in all directions

CHORUS

Joining the world of missing persons (and she was)
Missing enough to feel alright (and she was)

Ok scary boy, you've now posted my all time favorite Talking Heads song, one with which I identify. Post another, I have no doubt it'll be my favorite whatever.