orpheus

favourite song time following on from previous random tunes blog posting
i did a google search for david sylvian to find out the year of release of brilliant trees
got delivered up in the results a youtube link to the promotional clip for this song
which just so happens to be about my all time favourite tune by this near all time favourite performer
so of course i clicked onto the link and sat mesmerised
as i watched and listened to this superb song
the video complements the song beautifully
so another link to a lyrics database site
delivers up the lyrics as follows
i think they are quite profound
it's just the best song
and at 2 minute 17 seconds remaining
a moment of silence
that i just want to live in
sigh....



standing firm on this stony ground
the wind blows hard
pulls these clothes around
i harbour all the same worries as most
the temptations to leave or to give up the ghost
i wrestle with an outlook on life
that shifts between darkness and shadowy light
i struggle with words for fear that they'll hear
but orpheus sleeps on his back still dead to the world

sunlight falls, my wings open wide
there's a beauty here i cannot deny
and bottles that tumble and crash on the stairs
are just so many people i knew never cared
down below on the wreck of the ship
are a stronghold of pleasures i couldn't regret
but the baggage is swallowed up by the tide
as orpheus keeps to his promise and stays by my side

tell me, i've still a lot to learn
understand, these fires never stop
believe me, when this joke is tired of laughing
i will hear the promise of my orpheus sing

sleepers sleep as we row the boat
just you the weather and i gave up hope
but all of the hurdles that fell in our laps
were fuel for the fire and straw for our backs
still the voices have stories to tell
of the power struggles in heaven and hell
but we feel secure against such mighty dreams
as orpheus sings of the promise tomorrow may bring

tell me, i've still a lot to learn
understand, these fires never stop
please believe, when this joke is tired of laughing
i will hear the promise of my orpheus sing

be here now

sometimes it seems a song leaps out of nowhere
gets stuck in the head or just keeps re-appearing
in some way and demands some kind of attention
like a child or a pet or in my case an obsession
first heard this tune on a sampler cd from a magazine subscription
kind of fell into it almost immediately
it got played repeatedly for a period of time
bought the album and overdosed on it
so had to put it and the song away for a while
it then reappeared in the shorts for a film seen recently
away from her
a very natural link between the film and song title
be here now
conceived, written, nurtured and performed by ray lamontagne
i went to see the film in no small part because of this song
but clever marketing people had the better of me
it's not used at all in the film so marketing 1 snoner 0
in the end this is a good thing
for i am mostly a bit wary of the use of songs to sell a story
and the film now lives in my head apart from the song
but the song is back out front demanding attention
so needs a pat on the head and to be sent off again
youtube to the rescue again
this clip is totally unofficial
it's an amateur video using the tune as backing
but the style of the video seems to have been fashioned on the film
here's the tune and the lyrics below
big breath....

don't let your mind get weary and confused
your will be still, don't try
don't let your heart get heavy child
inside you there's a strength that lies

don't let your soul get lonely child
it's only time, it will go by
don't look for love in faces, places
it's in you, that's where you'll find kindness

be here now, here now
be here now, here now

don't lose your faith in me
and I will try not to lose faith in you
don't put your trust in walls
'cause walls will only crush you when they fall

be here now, here now
be here now, here now

masters of war

here's something a bit different
a song's lyrics published in entirety with a link to the tune
i got hold of a 3 cd compilation of music on a german labelled called glitterhouse
an excellent set of music mostly american in nature but otherwise seemingly unique
there's a track in there by an american band called timesbold doing a song called masters of war
first time i heard the song i liked it and it has been on high rotation in my pc's jukebox ever since
i've never been a big bob dylan fan but his latest album modern times has won me over
so i started digging a bit deeper and got hold of the recent biographical dvd titled no direction home
you can imagine my surprise to hear and see bob doing a version of the song i had got to know very well
but of course in fact bob wrote the song way back (1963) presumably in reference to the vietnam war
though my take on it was a contemporary band having a go at america's leaders regarding the iraq war
which just goes to prove many things not the least being the timelessness of bob dylan's music
timesbold have a download link on their site for our listening pleasure
click on this link to the timesbold site and then follow the link to sounds
and the lyrics are presented herein....

come masters of war
you that build all the guns
you that build the death planes
you that build all the bombs
you that hide behind walls
you that hide behind desks
i just want you to know
i can see through your masks

you that have never done nothin'
but build to destroy
and you play with my world
like it's your little toy
you put a gun in my hands
and you'd hide from my eyes
and you'd turn and run farther
when the fast bullets fly

like a judas of old
you would lie and deceive
a world war can be won
you want me to believe
but i see through your eyes
and i see through your brain
like i see through the water
that runs down my drain

and you'd fasten all the triggers
for the others to fire
then you sit back and watch
while the death count gets higher
and you'd hide in your mansions
while young people's blood
flows out of their bodies
and is buried in mud

and you've thrown the worst fears
that can ever be hurled
the fear to bring children
into this world
and for threatening my babies
unborn and unnamed
you ain't worth the blood
that runs in your veins

how much do i know
to talk out of turn
you might say that i'm young
you might say i'm unlearned
but there's one thing i know
though i'm younger than you
even jesus would never
forgive what you do

let me ask you one question
is your money that good
will it buy you forgiveness
do you think that it could
i think you will find
when your death takes its toll
all the money that you made
will never buy back your soul

and i hope that you die
and your death will come soon
i will follow your casket
by the pale afternoon
and i'll watch while you're lowered
down to your deathbed
and i'll stand over your grave
'til i'm sure that you're dead