Songs of the Mystic

[Valjean]

Row, row, row your boat,
gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily...
Life is but a dream.

The boat, of course, is your physical body. The song's about how to conduct one's life (row your boat).
The verse advocates navigating with the flow of one's dharma -- down the stream, living gently, not struggling against the current.
Gently following one's dharma results in a happy (merry), stress-free life.
And the verse ends with that most Hindu of metaphysical asertions, that life is maya -- a dream.

 

[Willamena]

Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone,
An actor out on loan
Riders on the storm

There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirmin like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If you give this man a ride,
Sweet memory will die
Killer on the road

Girl, ya gotta love your man
Girl, ya gotta love your man
Take him by the hand
Make him understand
The world on you depends,
Our life will never end
Gotta love your man

Jim Morrison, of The Doors

 

[Willamena]

How to be invisible
Kate Bush


I found a book on how to be invisible
Take a pinch of keyhole
And fold yourself up
You cut along the dotted line
You think inside out
And you’re invisible

Eye of Braille
Hem of anorak
Stem of wallflower
Hair of doormat

I found a book on how to be invisible
On the edge of the labyrinth
Under a veil you must never lift
Pages you must never turn
In the labyrinth
You stand in front of a million doors
And each one holds a million more
Corridors that lead to the world
Of the invisible
Corridors that twist and turn
Corridors that blister and burn

Eye of Braille
Hem of anorak
Stem of wallflower
Hair of doormat

Is that the wind from the desert song?
Is that an autumn leaf falling?
Or is that you, walking home?
Is that the wind from the desert song?
Is that an autumn leaf falling?
Or is that you, walking home?
Is that a storm in the swimming pool?

You take a pinch of keyhole
And fold yourself up
You cut along the dotted lines
And think inside out
You jump ‘round three times
You jump into the mirror
And you’re invisible

 

[doppelganger]

Zero 7, "In the Waiting Line"

Wait in line
'Till your time
Ticking clock
Everyone stop

Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me
Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me

Woooohh
Do you believe
In what you see
There doesn't seem to be anybody else who agrees with me

Do you believe
In what you see
Motionless wheel
Nothing is real
Wasting my time
In the waiting line
Do you believe in
What you see

Nine to five
Living lies
Everyday
Stealing time
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can

Woooohh
Do you believe
In what you feel
It doesn't seem to be anybody else who agrees with me

Do you believe
In what you see
Motionless wheel
Nothing is real
Wasting my time
In the waiting line
Do you believe
In what you see

Ah and I'll shout and I'll scream
But I'd rather not have seen
And i'll hide away for another day

Do you believe
In what you see
Motionless wheel
Nothing is real
Wasting my time
In the waiting line
Do you believe
In what you see

Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me
Different things to me
Different things to me
Different things to me
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can

YouTube - Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line

 

[Willamena]

A good friend gave me this recently.

Heaven - The Talking Heads

Everyone is trying to get to the bar.
The name of the bar, the bar is called heaven.
The band in heaven plays my favorite song.
They play it once again,
They play it all night long.

Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.
Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.

There is a party, everyone is there.
Everyone will leave at exactly the same time.
It's hard to imagine that nothing at all
Could be so exciting, and so much fun.

Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.
Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.

When this kiss is over it will start again.
It will not be any different, it will be exactly
The same.
It's hard to imagine that nothing at all
Could be so exciting, could be so much fun.

Heaven is a place where nothing every happens.
Heaven is a place where nothing every happens.

 

[doppelganger]

Qkumba Zoo, "The Child Inside"

Who's that calling ?
who's that who can show the way ?
the child inside, its the child who lives still in your eyes
ne ho ne ye he hiyo, ne ho ne yehe ha
ne ho ne ye he hiyo, neho neho nehe hehe

who's that dying,
trying for a space in the cage you call your life
who's that crying
crying out just what it is you've thrown away

it's the. . .

the child inside, its the child who lives still in your eyes

ne ho ne ye he hiyo, ne ho ne yehe ha
ne ho ne ye he hiyo, neho neho nehe hehe

who's that dancing
laughing crying living every day by day by day by day

it's the. . .

the child inside, its the child who lives still in your eyes

ne ho ne ye he hiyo, ne ho ne yehe ha
ne ho ne ye he hiyo, neho neho nehe hehe

secret of the sun is in your eyes
take the power from your dreams and fly
children know it's magick that makes the world go round

 

[doppelganger]

Jack Johnson, "Upside Down"

Who's to say
What's impossible
Well they forgot
This world keeps spinning
And with each new day
I can feel a change in everything
And as the surface breaks reflections fade
But in some ways they remain the same
And as my mind begins to spread its wings
There's no stoppin' curiosity

I wanna turn the whole thing upside down
I'll find the things they say just can't be found
I'll share this love I find with everyone
We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's song
I don't want this feeling to go away

Who's to say
I can't do everything
Well I can try
And as I roll along I begin to find
Things aren't always just what they seem

I wanna turn the whole thing upside down
I'll find the things they say just can't be found
I'll share this love I find with everyone
We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's song
This world keeps spinning and there's no time to waste
Will it all keep spinning and spinning round and round and

Upside down
Who's to say whats impossible and can't be found
I don't want this feeling to go away

Please Don't go away
is this how it's supposed to be

 

[Troublemane]

YouTube - Sentenced: No One There

The axe, the bottle and the rope
The feeling there really is no more hope
The thought of the great unknown
And facing it alone
The dark, the silent and the cold
The feeling I have come to the end of my road
Yes, these are the things I spend
My remaining moments with

And the wind blows through my heart
Shivers me one last time
As I now reach out in the dark
No one there

Why did it have to be so hard
For us to live our lives
Again I reach out in the dark in despair

The desperation and the snow
The feeling of finally coming back home
The melancholy and the hole in the soil so hard and cold

And the wind blows through my heart
Shivers me one last time
As I now reach out in the dark
No one there

Your love for me, my love for you
Things we somehow managed to lose
Now there´s only the ruthless wind
To blow right through
It freezes my heart, my desperate heart
It freezes my heart, my desperate heart
It freezes my heart, my desperate heart
To think we both will die alone

And the wind blows through my heart
Shivers me one last time
As I now reach out in the dark
No one there​

​

 

[Troublemane]

YouTube - Ocean Soul [PotO]

One more night
To bear this nightmare
What more do I have to say

Crying for me was never worth a tear
My lonely soul is only filled with fear

Long hours of loneliness
Between me and the sea

Losing emotion
Finding devotion
Should I dress in white and search the sea
As I always wished to be - one with the waves
Ocean Soul

Walking the tideline
I hear your name
Is angels wispering
Something so beautiful it hurts

I only wished to become something beautiful
Through my music, through my silent devotion

 

[Troublemane]

YouTube - Nightwish- White Night Fantasy

Enchantress came to me
And said, meet me at the lake tonight

I hunt this song to the white
Through the shroud of snow I saw paradise
Peace, no more lies

Crestfallen soul
Rest for this night
Love is here
Right here under my wings

I dream of wolves
With them I run
For me she lengthened the night
I am home
I am in peace

Crestfallen soul
Rest for this night
Love is here
Right here under my wings

 

[Troublemane]

And of course, RUSH!

YouTube - Rush- Mystic Rhythms
Mystic Rhythms

So many things I think about
When I look far away
Things I know, things I wonder
Things I'd like to say
The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown
We suspend our disbelief
And we are not alone...

Mystic rhythms
Capture my thoughts
Carry them away
Mysteries of night escape the light of day
Mystic rhythms
Under northern lights
Or the African sun
Primitive things stir
The hearts of everyone

We sometimes catch a window
A glimpse of what's beyond
Was it just imagination
Stringing us along?
More things than are dreamed about
Unseen and unexplained
We suspend our disbelief
And we are entertained

Mystic rhythms
Capture my thoughts
Carry them away
Nature seems to spin
A supernatural way
Mystic rhythms
Under city lights
Or a canopy of stars
We feel the powers and wonder what they are

Mystic rhythms
Capture my thoughts
Carry them away
Nature seems to spin
A supernatural way
Mystic rhythms
Under city lights
Or a canopy of stars
We feel the push and pull of restless rhythms from afar

 

[doppelganger]

Al Stewart, "Time Passages"

It was late in December
The sky turned to snow
All round the day was going down slow
Night like a river beginning to flow
I felt the beat of my mind
Go drifting into time passages
Years go falling in the fading light
Time passages
Buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight

Well, I'm not the kind to live in the past
The years run too short and the days too fast
The things you lean on
Are the things that don't last
Well, it's just now
And then my line gets cast into these
Time passages
There's something back here that you left behind
Oh, time passages
Buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight

Hear the echoes and feel yourself starting to turn
Don't know why you should feel
That there's something to learn

It's just a game that you play

Well, the picture is changing
Now you're part of a crowd
They're laughing at something
And the music's loud
A gal comes towards you
You once used to know
You reach out your hand
But you're all alone
In these time passages
I know you're in there
You're just out of sight
Oh, time passages
Buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight

 

[Willamena]

Alexandra Leaving

Suddenly the night has grown colder.
The god of love preparing to depart.
Alexandra hoisted on his shoulder,
They slip between the sentries of the heart.

Upheld by the simplicities of pleasure,
They gain the light, they formlessly entwine;
And radiant beyond your widest measure
They fall among the voices and the wine.

It's not a trick, your senses all deceiving,
A fitful dream, the morning will exhaust -
Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving.
Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost.

Even though she sleeps upon your satin;
Even though she wakes you with a kiss.
Do not say the moment was imagined;
Do not stoop to strategies like this.

As someone long prepared for this to happen,
go firmly to the window. Drink it in.
Exquisite music. Alexandra laughing.
Your firm commitments tangible again.

And you who had the honor of her evening,
And by the honor had your own restored -
Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving;
Alexandra leaving with her lord.

Even though she sleeps upon your satin;
Even though she wakes you with a kiss.
Do not say the moment was imagined;
Do not stoop to strategies like this.

As someone long prepared for the occasion;
In full command of every plan you wrecked -
Do not choose a coward's explanation
that hides behind the cause and the effect.

And you who were bewildered by a meaning;
Whose code was broken, crucifix uncrossed -
Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving.
Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost.

Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving.
Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost.

L. Cohen, Hydra, Greece, September 1999

There's a note: After 'The god abandons Anthony' by C. Cavafy

When suddenly there is heard at midnight
A company passing invisible
With wonderful music, with voices, -

Your fortune giving way now, your works
Which have failed, the plans of a lifetime
All turned illusions, do not mourn uselessly.
As one prepared long since, courageously,
Say farewell to her, to Alexandria who is leaving.
Above all do not be tricked, never say it was
All a dream, and that your hearing was deceived;
Do not stop to such vain hopes as these.

As one prepared long since, courageously,
As becomes one worthy as you were of such a city,
Firmly draw near the window,
And listen with emotion but not
with the complainings and entreaties of cowards,
Listen, your last enjoyment, to the sounds,
The wonderful instruments of the mystic company,
And say farewell, farewell to Alexandria you are losing.

The Poems of C.P. Cavafy

 

[doppelganger]

YouTube - Tracy Chapman - I'm Ready + Save a place for me

This one should be heard to be really enjoyed.

 

[Willamena]

Okay, with this song I think I've posted every song of Leonard Cohen's from his 2001 album 'Ten New Songs', so I can highly recommend it. Though it does help to have listened to Bob Marley earlier.

By the rivers dark
I wandered on.
I lived my life
In Babylon.

And I did forget
My holy song:
And I had no strength
In Babylon.

By the rivers dark
Where I could not see
Who was waiting there;
Who was hunting me.

And he cut my lip
And he cut my heart.
So I could not drink
From the rivers dark.

And he covered me,
And I saw within,
My lawless heart
And my wedding ring,

I did not know
And I could not see
Who was waiting there,
Who was hunting me.

By the rivers dark
I panicked on.
I belonged at last
To Babylon.

Then he struck my heart
With a deadly force,
And he said, ‘This heart:
It is not yours.’

And he gave the wind
My wedding ring;
And he circled us
With everything.

By the rivers dark,
In a wounded dawn,
I live my life
In Babylon.

Though I take my song
From a withered limb,
Both song and tree,
They sing for him.

Be the truth unsaid
And the blessing gone,
If I forget
My Babylon.

I did not know
And I could not see
Who was waiting there,
Who was hunting me.

By the rivers dark,
Where it all goes on;
By the rivers dark
In Babylon.

 

[YmirGF]

An odd selection, but nonetheless a brilliant bitter-sweet song done at the end of making decades of music. I am not a Johnny Cash fan, but this one is awesome and it's a great video too.

Hurt

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stain of time
The feeling disappears
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

 

[YmirGF]

The Art of Dying (George Harrison)

There'll come a time when all of us must leave here
Then nothing sister Mary can do
Will keep me here with you
As nothing in this life that I've been trying
Could equal or surpass the art of dying
Do you believe me?

There'll come a time when all your hopes are fading
When things that seemed so very plain
Become an awful pain
Searching for the truth among the lying
And answered when you've learned the art of dying

But you're still with me
But if you want it
Then you must find it
But when you have it
There'll be no need for it

There'll come a time when most of us return here
Brought back by our desire to be
A perfect entity
Living through a million years of crying
Until you've realized the Art of Dying
Do you believe me?

 

[doppelganger]

The Cure, "Pictures of You"

I've been looking so long at these pictures of
you that I almost believe that they're real
I've been living so long with my pictures of you that
I almost believe that the pictures
are all I can feel

Remembering you standing quiet in the rain as
I ran to your heart to be near and we kissed as
the sky fell in holding you close how I always
held close in your fear remembering you
running soft through the night you were bigger
and brighter than the snow and
screamed at the make-believe screamed at the
sky and you finally found all your courage to
let it all go

Remembering you falling into my arms crying
for the death of your heart you were stone
white so delicate lost in the cold you were
always so lost in the dark remembering you
how you used to be slow drowned you were
angels so much more than everything oh hold
for the last time then slip away quietly open
my eyes but I never see anything

If only I had thought of the right words I could
have held on to your heart
if only I'd thought of the right words
I wouldn't be breaking apart
all my pictures of you

Looking so long at these pictures of you
but I never hold on to your heart
looking so long for the words to be true
but always just breaking
apart my pictures of you

There was nothing in the world that I ever
wanted more than to feel you deep in my heart
there was nothing in the world that I ever
wanted more than to never feel the breaking
apart all my pictures of you

 

[Willamena]

"Just an old-fashioned love song playing on the radio . . . "
And wrapped around the music is the sound
Of someone promising they'll never go . . .

You swear you've heard it before
As it slowly rambles on and on
No need in bringing `em back,
`Cause they're never really gone

Just an old-fashioned love song
One I'm sure they wrote for you and me
Just an old-fashioned love song
Coming down in 3-part harmony

To weave our dreams upon and listen to each evening
When the lights are low . . .
To underscore our love affair
With tenderness and feeling that we've come to know . . .

You swear you've heard it before
As it slowly rambles on and on, and
No need in bringing `em back,
`Cause they're never really gone

Just an old-fashioned love song
Coming down in 3-part harmony
Just an old-fashioned love song
One I'm sure they wrote for you and me

Just a . . . love song
Coming down . . .
Just a . . . love song
Coming down . . .

"To weave our dreams upon and listening to a song . . ."

Three Dog Night :wolf:uppy::snoopy:

 

[YmirGF]

Bittersweet Symphony (Richaed Anderson - The Verve)

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony this life
Trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to the money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet, yeah
No change, I can't change, I can't change, I can't change,
but I'm here in my mold , I am here in my mold
But I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mold, no, no, no, no, no

Well, I've never prayed,
But tonight I'm on my knees, yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind , I feel free now
But the airwaves are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

No change, I can't change, I can't change, I can't change,
but I'm here in my mold , I am here with my mold
And I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mold, no, no, no, no, no

(Well have you ever been down?)
(I can't change, I can't change...)
(Ooooohhhhh...)

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony this life
Trying to make ends meet, trying to find some money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet, yeah
You know I can't change, I can't change, I can't change,
but I'm here in my mold, I am here in my mold
And I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mold, no,no,no,no,no
I can't change my mold, no,no,no,no,no
I can't change my mold, no,no,no,no,no

(It justs sex and violence melody and silence)
(It justs sex and violence melody and silence)
(I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down)
(It justs sex and violence melody and silence)
(I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down)
(Been down)
(Ever been down)
(Ever been down)(Lalalalalalaaaaaaaa...)
(Ever been down)
(Ever been down)
(Have you ever been down?)
(Have you ever been down?)
(Have you ever been down?)