1. |
Letters from the Skipper
03:57
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so weighted - so held down
a pain to deep to discuss aloud
the dust had hardly settled
ash and paper and bone
carried aloft -
the late summer breeze - like so many letters home
the guilt so heavy - its depth uncharted
ashamed to speak of what actually happened
but we'd relive the days
the sound and sail and sun
these letters from the skipper
sent with the hope - of one final run
I STOOD AT THE BOW
AND WATCHED MY CITY RECEDE
IN THAT MOMENT THE WHEEL WAS PASSED
BUT IN HIS TIME OF NEED
I LEFT HIM IN THE HOLE
OF SORROW
TO FEND ALONE
i was never contented at the stern
watching the wake dissolve
i will pilot until my dying day
STANDING AT THE BOW
WATCHING MY CITY RECEDE
JUST A MOMENT - AND MY CHANCE HAD PASSED
IN HIS TIME OF DEEPEST NEED
LEFT DOWN IN A HOLE
HIS GREATEST SORROW
TIME HE’D SPEND ALONE
CAPTAIN
-MY CAPTAIN, O
CAPTAIN
-MY CAPTAIN, O
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2. |
Backslide
04:15
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i’m trying to fathom
how we claim to have progressed
become more civil and kind
when rights are stripped from the wronged
proving time and again
that justice is blind
tens, hundreds, or thousands of years
don’t seem to matter that much today
when a man is still measured
and assigned his worth
by the skin in which he is born
i’m trying to relate
in a place i don’t feel a part
more than willing to enact change
- once it appeared so black and white
now I see how totally strange
it all is…
tens, hundreds, or millions of lives
aren’t given their equal say
when a woman is still measured
and assigned her worth
by the skin in which she is born
all these millions and billions of tears
don’t seem to matter that much these days
when we are all still measured
and assigned our worth
by the skin in which we are born
honey-tongued right to your face
and poison behind your back
they’ll do anything to win the race
a bitter pill stuck inside your throat
and bile in your gut
stand your ground or be erased
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3. |
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Running through a sea of green
I looked to the sky
And wished the clouds
Into shapes of my imagination
Lying in the grass
The day had passed me by
I watched bright lights unfold
And blossom in the sky
Innocence
I did not see
That was only the way
I wanted to be
Watched by all
They rise and fall
The keys to the past
When we explain
Our plans are in vain
The future is locked
In the minds of the present
They sent me away
To a place of truth
Knowledge was given
At a price
My sudden awareness
I did not want
Deprived of my dreams
My freedom of choice
Innocence
Was taken from me
That was only the way
I used to be
I learned of the stars
And the clouds I had seen
I could not retain
My own memories
Of the bright lights
Above a sea of green
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4. |
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High and mighty on their thrones
We get tricked by their deception
Fearful of the common word
They lie to counter oppression
Promises made
Promise betrayed
We keep them under suspicion
Interrogate the hypocrites
Subject them to crucifixion
Cast the foundations
Break the mold
Building blocks crash to the ground
Weave their web of hope and faith
Swallow their pride
Let the people down
Tell us right when they mean wrong
Adding to our confusion
Going past where they lead on
Seeing through the illusion
Break the rules
Lies the lies
Signing a new constitution
Keep the people in the dark
Countdown to revolution
Silent citizens hold their stand
Faithful to their reaction
Guilty parties are dealt their hand
Leading to extradition
Players in a game of money
Of power and exhibition
The wicked walk on every side
Shining light on our superstition
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5. |
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The man of the past
Sporting musket and arrows
Drew decisions on the battlefield
Things to be were revealed
Uncommon laws for a common cause
To save the ground upon which they walked
Was the essence of their existence
To move out West or save North from South
They killed their brothers with devoted persistence
Playing with fire
Or throwing stones
Becomes a game of power
To overthrow
Pack up the tribe
Start the crusade
March through the streets
Foreign banners wave
The man of the present
Has the past to live down
To compensate for early mistakes
He has to detonate in the underground
The tremble and quake was our own mistake
Revolutionary leaders
And forgotten sons
Take the blame for the nation
In the battle not won
Imperial powers
Place a lock on the tomb
The shame of the nation
The death of their home
The man of the future
Laughs at that which has been
While he picks through the rubble and dirt
Immune to the loss and hurt
Find unwelcome treasures from the drastic measures
Chivalry and valor are long since dead
The stuff of legends most easily ignored
Opposing only to carry on tradition
The battle becomes a pastime of the bored
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6. |
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Stars weave their lace
When we build castles in space
Escape the harsh reality
Building beyond
The new colony
Cast aside differences
Boundaries are repressed
No territory for each nation
One void
By all possessed
As we exist in the beyond
We become extinct in the beyond
Reverence to immensity
Astral heavens to infinity
The excuse to leave our home
To escape the coming stone
A common worldly plight
“For our homeland we must fight”
The dreams of men before
To open a cosmic door
A portal to the stars
Where imagination runs afar
As we explore the gilded place
The vast and empty space
Our dreams are too celestial
Reality too
Terrestrial
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7. |
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Sitting in an open place
Soft wind blows
Through the air I see
The approaching form
Take shape and grow
Here he comes
Moving nearer still
Through the mist and haze
Wrinkled and weathered cracks
Upon his face
Still we behold his spectacle
With a distant fascination
Time will come
When he lives
Without reservation
His mysterious march
Beating through the memories
Feather in hand
Decorated the head
Of a prophet or a doctor
Driven from his land
Forward he moves
He is past me now
To the white building
Free his ground somehow
As the dust devil turns
As the red sun sets
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8. |
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Foolish impulse
As you live on the edge
Always pushing farther
Cross that fatal bridge
Lying in your solitude
No more light will your eyes see
Feel the loss in our hearts
For eternity
Take the life
From your eyes
You left too soon
No one said goodbye
Take the life
From your friends
They had it all
Accept the bitter end
Feeling remorse
For your family
Learning to cope with that
Harsh reality
Those who don’t believe
That your gone so soon
Blame it on themselves or others
Forgetting about you
You’re in the past
We get on with our lives
I still see your face
The memory never fades
I remember
Times you made me laugh
Now I see that memory
Will never fade
Dedicated to the memory of Colleen Merriman
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Gaillion New York, New York
Gaillion, \GUY-lee-on\ is a progressive rock power trio, formed in Avon, CT by Don Gunn, drums and percussion; Todd Howard, vocals, bass and keyboards; and James Vasquenza Jr., guitars and backing vocals.
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