1. |
Played by the Numbers
04:39
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I sit upon a throne, inside a stream
this concrete river overlooks everything
I can't remember the last time I walked anywhere
or where I was walking to
the numbers are eating so many moments in our lives
Yes we're played, played by the numbers
Our lives played against the odds
We're played, played by the numbers
and our only hope is to do something new
The threat of nuclear war might frighten
some of us back into line
I thought that went away with the 80's - oy.
yet somehow storm troopers are still marching in time
in our name - in lands that we've never been, never seen
And they're played, played by the numbers
They're lives are played against the odds
They're played, played by the numbers
and They're only hope is to do something new
A deluded illusion of my soul haunts humming, empty halls
It's a vision static, in electricity
I fear it might be used someday by some evil gangster computer god
to steal away all that I hold dear
As we're played, played by the numbers
Even our souls are played against the odds
We're played, played by the numbers
and our only hope is to do something new
Yet somehow, still, gardens are growing
Beauty, art, and life still flowing
People we build and invent because
We've got something to finish
And that's the work that G-D started so long ago.
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2. |
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Once upon a time, at the end of the world
With a book, a bell, a candle burning
and the light reflected in your eyes
Showed me the love for which I was yearning
And there, underneath the planet Mars
We did shine just like the wand'ring stars
Once upon a time, at the end of the world
With a book, a bell, a candle burning
Oo, Candlelight Oo, Candlelight
Once upon a time at the end of the world
I knew I could never return home
for the old folks have passed away into the great beyond
for home a place that is here, then its gone
And here, a fantasy of memory to find
and there, the dream of a life we left behind
Once upon a time at the end of the world
I knew I could never return home
Oo, Candlelight Oo, Candlelight
Once upon a time, at the end of the world
We found a love that would carry on
on into the night and the glow of the morning star
Never thought it could go so far
And there, underneath the planet Mars
We did shine just like the wand'ring stars
Once upon a time, at the end of the world
With a book, a bell, a candle burning
Once upon a time, at the end of the world
With a book, a bell, a candle burning Oo, Candlelight Oo, Candlelight
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3. |
Stoked
03:30
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It's a sad, sad day. We've come a long way -
there comes a time to lose your mind
Still your heart, and I'll hold my tongue
and together we might find ourselves down at the finish line
Let's stoke the fire, tonight we're getting higher
than we've ever been before
Hold on to your heart, of your mind let go
It's time to stoke the fire down in my soul
If life's a race, don't want to run to fast
Just walk on down, try to make it last
and if life's a game, you got to roll them bones
Draw your hand of cards, and try to build a home
Let's stoke the fire, tonight we're getting higher
Higher than we've ever been before
Hold on to your heart, of your mind let go
It's time to stoke the fire down in my soul
Fall to your knees and sigh
Kiss the world goodbye
Let your hardened heart grow light,
It's time to give up the fight
Be robbed of your pride, don't hide it on the inside
Wear your heart on your sleeve, don't be afraid to believe
Let's stoke the fire, tonight we're getting higher
than we've ever been before
Hold on to your heart, of your mind let go
It's time to stoke the fire down in my soul
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4. |
Ten of Wands
05:31
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Oh Lord, I been hurtin', my back bent low with this burden
I been counting pennies, stacking these staves
With a flow that's running so low, no savior who saves me
I cried out, oh my soul, when may I lay down this heavy load
Oh, my soul it shouts down, “When you lay down your pride, you may wear
That Starry Crown, yeah yeah
That Starry Crown, yeah yeah
I found one – what is one? It's the power of the light & life that's reflected in the Sun
I found two, three, and four - Four is for the wedding canopy that shows us more is in store
I found five, what is five?
It's the fighting spirit that will keep you alive
I found six, seven, & eight - eight arrows that point the way to the dream gate
Yeah, yeah... yeah, yeah
Well, I found nine, what is nine? It's the night before the fight we may die, that we dine
I found ten, what is ten? It's the straw that broke the camel's back, it will make your mind bend
I cried out, oh my soul, when may I lay down this heavy load
My soul it shouts down, “When you can lay down your pride, you may wear
That Starry Crown, yeah yeah
That Starry Crown, yeah yeah
When you gonna lay down your pride, yeah yeah
Mm, Hmmmm, then you may wear That Starry Crown
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5. |
Silver Halo Blues
04:47
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Why don't you let your silver halo down?
Let that blue light a-flicker, & darkness come around
Why don't you let your silver halo down?
Of the talking heads, you know John was the first
To transverse time & space, t
o be so gifted with the glory of God's grace
Of the talking heads, you know John was the first
To plunge through the arches of night
And, passing through a portal of glittering starlight,
Throw open the window, never mind the cold,
Walk with the eldest of the old souls
There, threads of unknown origin dance & weave
Now, if you should spy the silver, there amongst the gold
Wonder is what your fortune may hold.
Me, I got midnight blue & other colors impossible to behold
With mortal eyes - save for the wise
But I got that midnight blue, that midnight blue
There, under the arches of that night
Passing through a portal of glittering starlight,
When you throw open the window, never mind the cold,
Let the spell of Morpheus take hold.
Of the talking heads, you know John was the First
To be caught between the worlds, endlessly alone
Like an angel, far from home
Why don't you let your silver halo down
Let that blue light a-flicker, & darkness come around
Why don't you let your silver halo down
And as dawn's light approaches, Yes, as dawn's light approaches - Just remember that them rays are dignified by the night - the cosmic immortality of night
And plunging through the arches of night
Passing through a portal of glittering starlight,
Throw open the gates, give a shoutout to all your fates,
The dream gate awaits
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6. |
Rule of Three
03:39
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They say that lightning never strikes twice
They say that lightning never strikes twice
But if it do, get ready to roll the dice
But they say that lightning never strikes twice
Oh and everything only happens one time
Oh and every little thing only happens one time
But if it does, be ready top pay the fine
'Cuz somebody gonna call it a crime
Now if you've got the mother, the maiden, and the crone
Now if you've got the mother, the maiden, and the crone
Yes if you've got the mother, the maiden and crone
Be thankful for your happy home
Here's one for the father, two for the son
Here's one for the father, two for the son
Three will make the Devil – Run, Devil, Run!
Run Devil, run Devil run...
If you see just one, better look around
If you see just one, better look around
'Cuz one moment you're alone
The next you're 6 feet underground
If you see just one, better look around
If you think there's just two, better hold on
'Cuz 3 is a-comin', and man it won't be long
If you see just 2, better hold on
If you've got 1, you've got unity
If you've got two, you've got polarity
But if you've got 3, why don't you break some off for me?
'Cuz you know we all just tryin' to get free
You can trade your wooden nickel for a silver dime,
Trade your soul for a real good time
whether I double the stakes, or whether I tow the line
The rule of three is on my mind
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7. |
The Reminder Waltz
04:31
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History now has forever ended
Will the suffering of the past ever be mended?
Epitaph on the tombstone of humanity
From themselves, how they yearned to be free
Oh lord, let that sun keep on shining
shining down on you and on me
Oh lord, let that sun keep on shining
reminding us of what its like to be free... to be free
We lay here, in the darkness
of manufactured melancholy
taught to bend and to worship
just about any form of authority
Oh lord, let that sun keep on shining
shining down on you and on me
Oh lord, let that sun keep on shining
reminding us of what its like to be free... to be free
Let us bring forth the light
into the darkness of our lives
Let's run through the graveyard at midnight
Free the dead inside your head
and rise, RISE, RISE – from your grave!
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8. |
Float
04:38
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You risked your soul way up on the mountain
When you raised your voice to your Lord
and drank deep from Wisdom's Holy Fountain
The greatest gift, they say, is a sense of wonder
It's a choice that I make every day -
will we float or go under?
You and I are more alike than we can scarcely believe
the Divine & the Shrike, through & though we can conceive
If I could only learn to live each moment, one by one,
I might learn to forgive, to be here under this sun
to forgive this mortal stain, to live in Your eternal Amen....
The greatest gift, they say, is a sense of wonder
It's a choice that you make every day -
will we float or go under?
You and I are more alike than we can scarcely believe
the Divine & the Shrike, through & though we can conceive
You are made Holy because of me
and I am made Holy because of You.
You kick me when I'm deep
You whisper while I'm asleep
hmm... aaah, Your secret Name
hmm... the rules of your Heavenly game
which no one may speak, which no one may know
and through which, the breath of life flow....
The greatest gift, they say, is a sense of wonder
It's a choice that we make every day
will we float or go under?
You and I are more alike than we can scarcely believe
the Divine & the Shrike, through & though we can conceive
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9. |
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10. |
Folk Magick
04:29
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Mr. Money Devil has a lucky penny
and a dollar folded into a bow
He's red and green and yellow
yella through and through
and he'll get a dollar, yes he'll get a dollar out of you
And he skulks around my porch, and on the street corner
with a leering grin - A grin that will scorch the conscience
of a soul drenched in sin - he's inviting more money in
The penny was attached to a knife
That forged by a father for his son
And this made it luckier than most lucky pennies out there For it bore the gift of a generation
The penny it was thought could amplify its luck
By hiding it inside a cuckoo clock
But Mr. Money Devil got a hold of it first
And now he's even harder, harder to stop
And he skulks around my porch, and on the street-corner
with a leering grin -
A grin that will scorch the conscience of a soul
Drenched in sin - he's inviting more money in
His bow tie was a dollar that was kept inside a hat
For many of the greasy years
the dollar was left lying as a gift
and on it was wish't
It was wished upon 18 times - with 18 different rhymes -
and all of them little wishes came to be true
Mr. Money Devil has a lucky penny
and a dollar folded into a bow
He's red and green and yellow
yella through and through
and he'll get a dollar, yes he'll get a dollar out of you
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11. |
Bessarabian Traffic Jam
03:24
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12. |
Gray Memories
05:30
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She's dancing through the cobwebs in the house where she's lived - the past 20 years of this widow's memory
they're brushed aside with a soft pirouette
a new life's beginning, but it hasn't started yet
These are the stories of Gray Memories
Some to remember, others we'll forget
the ocean wave are crashing, and in their song, you hear,
'How could you... forget?"
There's an old man at sea, casting his nets
a-drift in a ship fashioned by his own hands
He wanders searching, drifting alone
For his love has gone to that far distant land
These are the stories of Gray Memories
Some we'll remember, others drift away...
The ocean wave are crashing, and in their song,
You hear, 'How could you... forget?"
About this time, the Spider said to the Fly, "Well, deary, I was just wondering, I was just curious... do you think... do you just think... Will you try to remember, or let yourself forget?"
To which the fly replied, in a rather flustered state, "Bzz ah! Bzz ah! I will always remember you!"
"In that case..."
There's a shadow that's cast in the corner of your mind
Where Queen Anansi sits, spinning your tale
She's weaving lace out of out Goddess spider-silk
and these are the garments your ghostly form shall wear
These are the stories of Gray Memories
Some to remember, others, will to forget...
the ocean wave are crashing, and in their song,
you hear, 'How could you... forget?"
Right about now, the ghost of the Fly was drifting up from his earthly remains, and all of this the Spider saw with her 3rd eye. She inquired once again, "Wait, hold on there dearie, before you float away on some breeze from an unknown realm... please, do tell! Did you try to remember? Or did you let yourself forget?"
To which the Fly replied, "Bzz... zazas zazas zazas bzz zazas natas natas zazas zazas... bzz to forget what? To forget... what? To forget..."
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13. |
Starry Secrets
08:11
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The stars are keeping their secrets tonight
Veiled by gray clouds, the laughing goddess spins
The cosmic loom (womb) weaves (leaves) the roots of the tree ov life
Through this darkness shines an unseen light
WE TRACE THE SIGN WE TRACE THE SIGN
WITH THE BLOOD AND THEN THE WINE
AWAIT WITH SHINING KNIVES, THE KILLING OV TIME
Gird your heart, within serpent’s body coil’d
Black dragon scales blooded & oil’d
Our smile a mask in a foreign land
Release flows from the broken hand
WE TRACE THE SIGN WE TRACE THE SIGN
WITH THE BLOOD AND THEN THE WINE
AWAIT WITH SHINING KNIVES, THE KILLING OV TIME
The stars are weeping, we are weeping tonight
Veiled by gray clouds, the laughing god cries out
Peals of mirth that haunt this place from the depths inside
Pointed daggers drawn towards the infinite
WE TRACE THE SIGN, WE TRACE THE SIGN,
WITH THE BLOOD AND THE WINE
AWAIT WITH SHINING LIVES
THE KILLING OV TIME
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Dylan Blackthorn Austin, Texas
Accordion-driven singer, songwriter, composer, and band leader at THAT Damned Band, Thee Harlequine, & Mazel Tov Kocktail
Hour.
Part time Quantum Mechanic with 999 EYES FREAKSHOW & SURREAL SIDESHOW.
Austiner Klezmer Bund member since 2013.
TIME TRAVELER'S Local 999 since 2030.
... more
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