1. |
Intro
00:57
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Introduction
Across the length and breadth
Of this vale of tears
Oh so many souls
Forced to spend their years
Fleeing from four horsemen
Who would cut them down
And for those who are so afflicted
My song is a worthless sound
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2. |
Touch the Sun
04:10
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Touch the Sun
(Pride of youth)
In wholeness I believe
But thoughts that I conceive
Rip apart the inside of my head instead
Knowledge on the left
And faith is on the right
I alone am somewhere in between them
And I’ll touch the sun
I’m searching every day
For a method or a way
To sweep aside the clouds that hide the light
I sample this and that
And little bits of both
Still the lightening flashes and cold winds blow
And I’ll touch the sun
A given chunk of life
To do with what I might
Reason is the tool
That hones it sharp and bright
The sculptor at his work
Carves with confidence and skill
So I will shape myself
With knowledge and free will
And I’ll touch the sun
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3. |
Lonely Weeper
03:36
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Lonely Weeper
(Lost!)
Where are you going
My lonely weeper
Cry not in mourning
For night brings the reaper
Please never make yourself
A mirror for the masses
Live exactly as you must
Before your morning passes by
See all the empty ones
Filled with aimless effort
See us running from ourselves
And watch us laugh about it
How is it you’ve lost your way
As you walk among them
Once you had so much to say
Oh what has stilled your tongue, then, now
In the evening of your life
My lovely seeker
Will you cringe or will you smile
When time brings the reaper
High up in an ivory tower
The view is crystal clear
Down among the rocks and briar
The fog is thick and darkness near
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4. |
Debauchery
02:31
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5. |
The Party
03:35
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The Party
(Despair)
I have tarried at the party
I’ve lingered far longer than I dare
Yet still I fill when empty
My glass with amber despair
And blow smoke rings in the air
The party started so jolly
Fast friends made in weather fair
Yet now the storm that approaches
Has blown them all home to their cares
And left me alone with my fear
’Twas many a maiden at the party
Though none would dance for very long
Perhaps I led them to quickly
Or maybe my timing was wrong
It seems I love drink more than song
So now I am last at the party
And somehow i cannot find the door
The darkness descends all around me
And my thoughts aren’t so bright anymore
How long must I fight this war
What was it this party was for?
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6. |
The Bottom
03:17
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The Bottom
(Enter grace)
Sitting at a table
In a rundown rented room
A desperate man contemplates his doom
A storm has killed his power
His light a single flame
The wind whips his will and wails his name
And chemicals inside him
They’re grinding up his soul
And he knows that he has no control
So pulling from the bottle
He cuts another line
And feels the panic growing in his mind
Kill kill
Destroy destroy
Maim maul and mangle
Break and batter
Rape and rend
Seek find and strangle
The bitterness that’s in his brain
A drug he cannot handle
One more drink
One more drug
Out goes the candle
His head is on the table
His eyes begin to close
Blood flows freely from his nose
His desperation deepens
The black pit of hell
Calls him to follow all who fell
And clearly now he sees it
He’s lived a life of pride
And all his faith and love have nearly died
So slipping into darkness
He leaves the world behind
And watches as he goes out of his mind
Kill kill
Destroy destroy
Maim maul and mangle
Break and batter
Rape and rend
Seek find and strangle
The bitterness that’s in his brain
A drug he cannot handle
One more drink
One more drug
Out goes the candle
When the world was younger
He sought to touch the sun
By will alone he’d see his will be done
But now as he is dying
He sees that he was wrong
The hand of God was there all along
He takes the hand that’s proffered
He stares into the face
Of everyone who’s known the gift of grace
And revelation strikes him
Like lightening from on high
Reason gives us wings on which to fly
But faith alone would see us crack the sky
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7. |
Friends
03:10
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Friends
(Gratitude)
Some people full of need
I’ve let into my soul
And where they’ve sown that seed
The both of us have grown
From open ended exchanges
Cast in lines of light
We’ve looked upon each other
And beheld a wondrous sight
And friends such as these
Were surely more than I looked for
When driven by disease
I found a place where I could face myself
Some people full of love
Have led me by the hand
They said, “Hey, man, when you’re all alone
You know its hard to make a stand.”
But I was independent
And filled with raucous pride
A fence of knives and wires
With nothing left inside
And friends such as these
Were surely more than I looked for
When driven by disease
I found a place where I could face myself
Some people full of patience
Have heard my tales of woe
And with their laughter and their wisdom
I learned to let things go
They taught me by example
And always spoke their minds
From souls set in a circle
I sense a presence divine
And friends such as these
Were surely more than I looked for
When driven by disease
I found a place where I could face myself
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8. |
Higher Powered
02:57
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Higher Powered
(Acceptance)
And within wheels of the cosmos
The days slip by
I’m flying faster and faster
To the day i die
Every hour is precious
Every minute is cast in gold
Oh why do I sit here
Waiting to get old
And life is a journey a tale still untold
Let logic lead you across faith’s threshold
Ones birth is the given and to grow is the goal
’Til body cannot contain soul
And energy is inside us
God’s watch winds down
One must focus momentum
On where dreams are found
The muddled muck of inertia
Forever fight
And always let evolution
Inform your flight
For our lives are for love and this we must hold
Give love away it increases tenfold
Ones birth is the given and to grow is the goal
’Til body cannot contain soul
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9. |
The Road
04:29
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The Road
(Humility)
Places that I’ve been to
In corners of my mind
Faces I’ve looked into
Teach lessons of a kind
And the road goes ever on
To its twists and its turns I am drawn
All the sights and the scents are its song
Now I’m here then I’m gone
Wholly are the people
Possessed by their possessions
But holy is the person
Who learns love
Is life’s lesson
And the road goes ever on
I’m a speck on the horizon by dawn
The cycle of seasons push me on
Now I’m here then I’m gone
Mountains to the forests
And forests to the fields
Rivers to the oceans
All whirl me in their wheel
And the road goes ever on
From my door it flows to beyond
No place can hold me for long
Now I’m here then I’m gone
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10. |
Epilogue
01:00
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Epilogue
Across the length and breadth
Of this gifted land
Many free from sorrow
Never understand
The opportunity given
Their spirits to thrive
And death waits on the doorstep
For those who were never alive
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Edward Cunningham Portland, Maine
Bassist/vocalist of Ogre and veteran of approximately 20,000 other bands. Here is his "acoustic spiritual" side.
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