You better wake up these super-power nations
Get their fingers off the button and man your stations
If they had it their way they’d shoot us right out of the sky
But did you ever think Mister, maybe we don’t want to die
Because I ain’t into death, I ain’t into dying
I ain’t into seeing, poor people crying
Left wing, suicidal, martyrdom
They’re gonna blow us all to Kingdom Come
Middle East, fanatical, religious killers
Knock out our Churches, right off their pillars
Right wing terrorists got the bomb
Chemical warfare broke the calm
But I ain’t into death, I ain’t into dying
I ain’t into seeing, poor people crying
Take your sides in the idiot game
Like overgrown children, they call each other names
Standing behind their bodyguards
You just wait, you’re gonna fall hard
How can you live with yourself when the whole world is soured?
You’re no better than the filthiest, rottenest, coward
And I ain’t into death, I ain’t into dying
I ain’t into seeing, poor people crying
They riot in the West so the try it in the East
Take it to the South where they expect it least
Killers kill cops and cops kill the killers
Blacks call us honkies and the whites call them niggers
We’re losing enough to disease and disasters
Why anybody want us to go any faster
Because I ain’t into death, I ain’t into dying
I ain’t into seeing, poor people crying
Lunatics kill at the drop of a hat
And next week it’s just another cold hard stat
They’ll drain your blood from the veins to the heart
With the guns that they bought at the local Walmart
I’m so damn sick of this fighting, right down to my core
So sign me up now, because I’m ready for war
But I ain’t into death, I ain’t into dying
I ain’t into seeing, poor people crying
I said I ain’t into death, I ain’t into dying
I ain’t into seeing, poor people crying
Like most people, I’ll never forget where I was when I first heard about the attacks on 9/11, and like most people I still find myself in a state of disbelief at times when I think about how we hate each other so much. And why I ask; just WHY?
911 (A PRAYER FOR 9/11)
It seemed like just another day
Off to work I’m on my way
Birds are chirping, the sun is shining
Every cloud has a silver lining
Then someone said “did you hear the news?”
Flames of red have invaded the skies, the skies of white and blue
They sent us down to the basement of our shining office tower
Where fear crept in just like a wind, but we never, ever, cowered
Someone call out a 911 for the souls of 9/11
If only for the ones they left behind, for they need no help in Heaven
It seemed kind of ironic with what we were feeling
But there was an old-fashioned, bomb shelter sign, hanging from the ceiling
We needed news and we needed it fast
Why must man always repeat the sins of his past?
I tried the internet, CCN dot com
But there was not enough bandwidth to carry on
I turned on the radio, reception was hazy
So we hauled down a TV and then it got all kinds of crazy
Someone call out a holy Hail Mary for the daughters of 9/11
So full of grace and blessed too, you spirits will surely light up Heaven
And I can’t believe what I’m seeing
Mushroom clouds and people fleeing
The streets of New York City
It’s not a place for pity
We didn’t know with what we were dealing
But we knew we’d need a lot of healing
Can someone please say something to make me understand
How man could do this to his fellow man
Someone call out a holy Our Father for the sons of 9/11
Thy Kingdome Come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven
Someone call out a 911, send help as soon as you can
There’s got to be some other way, to carry out your plan
Someone call out a 911, to tell me help is on the way
Without your love, from high up above, we won’t last another day
Someone call out a 911, send an answer to our prayers
For when we kneel down to our God, I’ve got to believe that He’s all ears
No matter the color of our skin, we all were born from the same sacred seed
And we can talk, talk, talk, until we are blue in the face, but now we need some action
Someone send out an atom bomb of love, may there be a chain-reaction
Squeeze the fear and anger from your soul, and may it be released
Someone send out a 911 of healing power, may there finally be a reign of peace
Whether it’s an ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan, or a dull brown caterpillar turning into a vibrantly colorful butterfly, the transformative miracle of life is such an amazing thing to behold.
CATERPILLAR
My love and I
We’ll take to the sky
We’ll fly to the moon
As I spin my cocoon
As I wind my silk thread
Love isn’t dead
Freed from my tomb
We’ll fly to the moon
As I crawl into bed
Peace in my head
Suspended in time
A life so sublime
Dangling there
Floating on air
A knight’s hibernation
Awaits transformation
Beauty is only as deep as the skin
What’s in is what’s out, and what’s out is what’s in
It’s reflected so deeply in the things that you do
In the things that you are, and the things that are you
Because you can’t always judge the look of a lover
You don’t always get what you see
And you can’t always judge a book by its cover
You must open it up and read…
Read about the fairy tales
About the ways that love prevails
Read about the ugly duckling
That turns into a swan
Read about the sleeping beauty
That turns the dusk into the dawn
All it takes is just one kiss and the frog becomes to a prince
A Cinderella tale from days of yore…and for forever since
We’re paralyzed, we’re hypnotized
Entombed in our cocoons
Yet energized, revitalized
We’ll break out of this gloom
And we’ll fly so high, so high into the sky, never to return
We’ll fly beyond the silver lining, beyond the clouds so blue
We’ll fly beyond the waving flags, you and me so true
We’ll fly beyond the rain and snow, beyond the setting sun
We’ll fly beyond the hands of time, you and me as one, join in love as one
Molecules changed
Life rearranged
We’ll fly to the moon
As I spin my cocoon
One kiss from the prince
Awake sleeping beauty
Awake and show me affirmation
You know you are my soul-salvation
My love and I
Two butterflies
Freed from our tomb
We’ll fly to the moon
Another song ins
pired by Revelations, this time it is Chapter 8.
WORMWOOD
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Men are riding horses
Wearing white colored hoods
A symbol of evil
A symbol of good
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Seven lampstands, seven stars
Imagine if you could
Seven lonely angels
All misunderstood
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Few have seldom crossed this path
Bow down if you should
Seven trumpets, loud and clear
One is spitting wormwood
Sad and bitter wormwood
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
This story has an ending
But that ending’s yet to come
The eternal truth will be revealed
With the final setting sun
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Revelations, Chapter Eight
You can read it in the book
Hail and fire, blood and locusts
Oh how the Earth it shook
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
Na NaNa Na-NaNaNa NaNaNa-Na
I always envisioned this piece to someday be an album-side long suite of music in the style of the band YES and their many classic 20 minute songs.
The main theme of this epic saga is loosely based on my short story “The Searcher”, which is available as a free e-book download from the following link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/357852
THE RETREAT OF THE INNOCENT
I...The Retreat
II…Sensory Deficiencies
III…Wise Old Man
IV…Destiny’s Last March
V…Halfway to Nowhere
VI…A New Land
VII…Refrain
I…The Retreat
A man of wisdom shines a light for all to see
Peace on Earth, was it really meant to be?
Innocent creatures in a land of dishonesty
Endless teachers in the mind of fantasy
Drifting, ever drifting, leaves fall off the family tree
Fighting, ever fighting, the roots we cannot see
Drifting, ever drifting, were we really meant to be?
Mother of God, were we really meant to be?
II…Sensory Deficiencies
A fragrance of the flowers sends wandering to the deep
And laughter from the lilies lays your soul to sleep
You see the fate of all the world and yet you cannot weep
For every man, it’s said in time, must sow just what he reaps
Dreaming countless journeys, knowing not which way to go
Feeling all the coldness, of the winter, of the snow
The storms of lightning light the sky and light this endless night
A thunderous roar of thunder hurls you into flight
Soft music plays like magic from the darken skies above
Our senses are so clear and crisp, yet we don’t know how to love
III…Wise Old Man
The piper plays a familiar song. and in time we all join in
He sings of days when we’ll all join hands, forgiven of our sins
Everybody searching, for something so it seems
A beam of light from Heaven came to us in a dream
The piper lays down his flute and puts a bullet in his gun
As we begin our journey who will lead us to the Son?
A voice above says “follow, the beam will lead you there”
As the soft and gentle music, yet whispers in our ear
We came across a wise man, we came across our fears
I saw my life go flashing by, I saw it disappear
Behold the man was crying, a funeral was near
He stood there like a statue as we wiped away his tears
Wise old man please tell us all a story
Wise old man please tell us all a tale
Wise old man please lead us all to glory
Wise old man when will the boats set sail?
We laid our burden in a field as he began to speak
“All that you are searching for, one day will be in reach”
He spoke of love and land of love, “that’s what you’re searching for”
“For those who are mistaken, don’t knock upon this door”
Wise old man I’m searching for my kingdom
Wise old man I’m searching for my queen
Wise old man I’m searching for my Eden
In this land of the gardens green
We were on our way to Kingdom Come, his wisdom shining through
“Be clear of mind, and soft of heart, and love will someday find you”
“So don’t despair, for the time is near, a dream is within your reach”
“But just remember that it’s in the darkest hour when you must truly practice what you preach”
Wise old man you cannot be mistaken
Wise old man you cannot do us wrong
Wise old man we will not be forsaken
Wise old man please lead us in a song
“The innocent are here”, he did declare, “we must surely mark the date”
Then he laughed as he cried, as our courage was tried, as he showed us to the gate
“You’ve heard it before but now you know it for sure, for the hour is getting late”
Then he opened up the Doors of Destiny and he pointed to the Road of Fate
Wise old man let Jesus please be with me
Wise old man please keep the wolves at bay
Wise old man when will I ever be free
Wise old man please show us all the way
IV…Destiny’s Last March
The Doors of Destiny were finally open, we could see the Road of Fate
The road wound through the hills and mountains, and through our mental state
Marching, ever marching, for there is no time to wait
Praying, ever praying, for still the Gods debate
Hand in hand we followed, through the darkness of our past
We walked for miles and miles and miles, will this journey end at last?
Step by step by step we walk, we walk without a clue
Longing just to hear the words I truly do love you
Through the darkness, night by night, we marched on down the road
A signpost nailed up to a tree revealed the ancient code
“March, continue marching” shout the stronger to the weak
The beam of light shines stronger now, in a foreign tongue it speaks
V…Halfway to Nowhere
On and on and on we marched, our lips were parched, our throats were dry
And we cried in disillusion, for this road’s paved with confusion
So barren and so desolate, was this fickle Road of fate
That a weaker man may have believed, it was surely the road of hate
Days without the sunshine, days without the Son
Through trials and tribulations, must I always be the one
But brave we were, and brave we’d be, we swore we’d not turn back
We continued on for the love we lost…and for the love we lack
VI…A New Land
And then a miracle, the miracle, she came in like a saint
A glow in my eyes, a spark in the skies, the Son began to rise
I look ahead, I look behind, and then I looked above
It’s as beautiful as they say it is, this long lost land of love
We ran u
ntil we reached the bend, the road had finally reached an end
I must confide, I tried to hide, when I saw you by my side
All this time spent searching, just to plant a seed
And now I’ve finally come to realize, that you are all I need
A body dies, a spirit flies, the road has led us home
A new land, within our hands, never shall we roam
A heart so blue, a love so true, was it really just being close to you
A new life, void of strife, was it really just being next to you
A new land, just to be with you
A new life, just to be with you
A new dream, just to be with you
A new love, just to be with you
VII…Refrain
And still that man of wisdom shines his light for all to see
Peace on Earth, was it really meant to be?
Innocent creatures in a land of dishonesty
Endless teachers in the mind of fantasy
Drifting, ever drifting, leaves fall off the family tree
Fighting, ever fighting, the roots we cannot see
Drifting, ever drifting, were we really meant to be?
Mother of God, were we really meant to be?
Drifting, ever drifting, were we really meant to be?
Mother of God, were we really meant to be?
Drifting, ever drifting, were we really meant to be?
Mother of God, were we really meant to be?
A special girl from my youth just so happened to live on a cobbled old path called ‘Ashcroft Road’…and so this one is for her.
ASHCROFT ROAD
An ode to you my lovely girl
The words to set us free
A song from me to fill your heart
That lingers on the Ashcroft Road
A flower blossoms in the night
And reaches for the day