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Miscellaneous Lyrics

Note: For lyrics to the mythconception project, see the mythconception page.

Palingensia

Well the sun is rising
It breaks the night
While the stars are swallowed
By the morning light
They fade away
Yeah, they're fading away

Dewdrops trickle
Toward the windowsill
A single bird breaks
The heavy still
Of the dawn
The darkest night is gone

The darkness lingers in my soul
Balanced by the light
Making me whole
In shades of grey
It's all shades of grey

The balance is achieved and I am freed
From the prison cell of excessive need
And I am awake
And I am alive

(instrumental)

I remain unmoved by desire or fear
The Sacred Place is always here
Inside of me
Centered in me

I live in the present
Today and now
Released from the past
To myself I vow
To escape the cycle

Ooh, palingensia

(Like a phoenix rising... Like a phoenix rising...)

Note: the final lines in parentheses are from an old Jawbone song titled "Black And White." The lines were penned by my old Jawbone bandmate and friend, Rick Anderson. They may or may not actually turn up in the final version of "Palingensia."

Father Sky, Mother Earth

Clouds billow in timeless beauty
Stars and planets shine their ancient light
The Ancestors honored the sun, the moon, the stars
And the changes brought by Father Sky

The wandered on the plains and the pebbled shores
And looked with love upon the open sky which gave them breath
They danced and sang their praises to the Father Spirit
And lived as a part of the infinite

Father Sky, Father Sky

Crops grow with seasonal offerings
Mountains, plains and forests rustle with harmonic life
The Ancestors honored the earth, the sea, the harvest
And the sustenance they received from the fertile Mother Earth

They wandered the desert and the forested hills
And gazed with love upon the tender earth which gave them life
They danced and sang their praises to the loving Goddess
To whom they all would one day return

Mother Earth, Mother Earth

(instrumental)

I gaze into the darkened sky so bright
With stars like sand upon the cosmic shore
And I admire those who have flown
To touch the face of Father Sky

I look upon the tender earth so rich
With crops and forests under seige
And I admire those who have toiled
To bring life from the womb of Mother Earth

Father Sky, Mother Earth

They did not know of radio, telephone or moving pictures
They did not know of fusion, transponders or satellites
They did not know of printing presses or digital stereo sound
They did not know of Chaos, fiber optics or electric lights

They did not know of vaccination or virtual reality
They did not know of televised reports ("live from the White House")
They did not know of lunar landings or double-sided floppy disks
But it seems that all the wonders the Ancestors knew
Have been forgotten today

Black Like Me

He wanted to play just like Hendrix
But he couldn't quite nail that tone
Couldn't quite get the feeling right
And that mysterious chord remained unknown

So he tried to play like Robert Johnson
But he didn't have enough pain inside his soul
So he tried to sing like Marvin Gay
But his voice could never—oh...

Don't you wish you were black like me, boy
Don't you wish you were black
Don't you wish you were black like me, boy
Don't you wish you were black
Don't you wish you could play like Jimi
Don't you wish you could play
Don't you wish you could play like Johnson
Don't you wish you could play

He wanted to be like the Native Americans
Feel the heat, smell the smoke of the sweat lodge
He wanted to be a part of that culture
But the Rez had never been his home

He asked the chief, "How can I be part of this culture?"
The old man said,
"You can never be a part of what you didn't grow up with."
The boy said,
"I would be proud to be an Indian."
But the chief said,
"We can't be proud; race is not an accomplishment."

He says he dreams of the crooked beak of heaven
And Coyote dancing in the sky
He says he hears the drums across the savannahs
And
He says he sees the crane flying
Across the face of Mount Fuji
But he's just a product of satellites and electricity
He's the product of a synthesized, collapsed and shrinking world

Jawbone lyrics by Dave Ward (Smaragd)

Revealed In Stone

Your footprints linger, pressed in rock
On the bank of some Mongolian river
A glimpse of a passing moment
One hundred million years ago

You died along the riverbank, spine coiled tight
Your flesh melted slowly away
And your bones drifted, separated
Lost in the layers of silt

I hear your throaty call somewhere in my heart
I feel your heavy breath at the base of my spine
Less than a grain of sand on the cosmic shore, I
Just a glitch in the timeless cycle, I...

Now stones have replaced your bones
And you decorate some museum lobby
Rocks in the shape of you
Poised for some melodramatic kill

These rocks, they hold the secrets
Clues to the great unknown
And hold me at a teasing distance
Your life forever just out-of-reach

But still I hear your throaty call somewhere in my heart
And still I feel your heavy breath at the base of my spine
Less than a grain of sand on the cosmic shore, I
Just a glitch in the timeless cycle, I...

All lyrics are copyrighted by Smaragd/Dave Ward