1. |
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The night sky, it seems so bare,
but in truth all the stars are there.
We've expanded the vacuum
with our incandescent light,
we kidnapped the nature of the night.
Oh the nature of night
was kidnapped by our light.
We kidnapped the nature of the night.
We should know better than we think,
but our internal rhythms are out of sync.
What hour do I wait again,
to catch up with my circadian?
Can you hear the cicadas
over the roar of the stadium?
Fight or flight,
if you do dare.
But without a star in sight,
to guide you on your flight,
how will you know which way or where?
'Cause the Great Magnetic North, it always changes,
and to not know how to proceed forth could be so dangerous.
We're strangers with the stars,
even with Polaris.
We kidnapped the night
with our use of the light
and we rendered ourselves useless...
...we've been so careless.
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2. |
Dolbear's Law
03:08
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In the thicket past the luscious bushes,
can you hear the cricket's music?
Tell me the temperature, by degrees...
based on how the cricket sings.
We traversed ivy and kudzu vines,
and from time to time,
we were hypnotized,
by the flickering flashing
of fireflies passing,
dashing and passing and dashing on by.
Sashaying and steering,
and then disappearing.
Like transient embers
they quickly ascended.
Which made us remember the long drawn-out demise
of Northern Virginia's declining fireflies.
Twilight had settled,
so onward we pedaled.
We stepped onto pavement,
made way to your basement.
Where moths were embossed
on the blocks outside
on the terra cotta bricks
by your tungsten porch light.
And on your cement steps,
a lazy slug had left
a crystalline trail
which traveled 'round the rail,
that you leaned on against
as you smoked a cigarette
and noticed the effect
of fading daylight vignetting...
...fading daylight vignetting...
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3. |
Horse
03:24
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They plowed our fields
they built our cities
they helped us bury our dead.
We are in debt to our equine friends
those odd-toed ungulates.
You've gone as far
as to war, with us, horse.
You shall not worry,
anymore, horse.
For as long as you are able to ride,
you'll remain safe and secure
in my stable.
You'll be all of my pride.
You shall have a solid roof,
one that is vermin-proof,
but don't lift your hoof
in disapproval when
the three blind mice run though.
But I will ask of you...
To not be bored,
during boarding, horse.
That is far worse
than the disturbance
from the mice...
for you could
pick up a vice.
Do not box-walk,
do not crib-bite,
do not rock from side-to-side.
No, I really wouldn't want
any sort of vice
to splice up the way that you stride.
For I am the rider,
together we will rid of
biding idle time
just abide by my bridle.
Stirrups and a saddle,
rhythm like a paradiddle.
Past the sheep and cattle
and straight into the open middle
of the meadow.
Together..we will ride.
we will ride..
we will ride.
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4. |
Persephone
07:13
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Persephone,
don't you eat that pomegranate seed,
or even that of the simple persimmon.
Persephone,
now just wait a minute.
For you might
fall into surrender
and fold into submission.
Though you're getting Stockholm Syndrome
you'll forever be in the prison
of the Underworld of Hades,
a thought that you do hate.
For your poor mother Demeter,
her demure and mourning features
are creating a bleak picture
on the surface of the earth.
She used a torch to search for you
without a clue went to your father Zeus.
Who despite being omniscient,
refused to provide the sufficient information.
So out of desperation,
an act of devastation...
Goddess of the harvest
suffering from her loss is
stalling all of creation
and keeping crops from birth.
The human race
will be erased.
No food to taste
nothing to eat.
No offerings for the deities
no reasons for the mortals to believe.
Indirectly, Demeter had an ace up her sleeve.
Which fired up an ired Zeus and made him scream,
"Who will believe in me?
Who will believe in me?"
In a sense of urgency,
Zeus declared emergency,
rescue sweet Persephone
from the center of the earth.
Moving with alacrity,
quicksilver and mercury,
messenger of the gods, Hermes
went to fetch sweet Persephone.
Past the River Styx,
the three-headed Cerberus,
no sight of cherubs or of nymphs,
just a dreadful glimpse of those
who are dead and long gone.
Not a suitable place
for the beautiful living Persephone
to belong.
But her suitor said,
"Personally,
what's a king without his queen?
Unfortunately,
you view my courtship as captivity.
And everything on the surface
is coming our way through death.
Even belief in the gods,
I never would have thought.
Darling, 'cause of my larceny,
my theft.
The taking of you
without your consent.
My primal seduction,
the rape and abduction
of Persephone!"
"So, Persephone...
as an offering,
an apology,
won't you take this pomegranate seed?"
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5. |
Pluto
04:58
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Pluto was a planet
before the year two thousand,
and then the Y2K came and took away his fame,
what a terrible shame!
And he was disinvited form the universe.
But what came first?
The knowledge of his existence,
or his persistence to circle 'round the sun?
Now a moment of silence,
for our disenchanted pilot,
He put up quite a fight,
but he didn't win over science.
Dinosaurs roamed the planet,
that we now populously inhabit,
but an asteroid was thrown,
and when it landed,
it created catastrophe and havoc,
what a terrible way to go!
Should I believe what was taught to me,
that the matter that I embody,
Cannot be created,
Cannot be destroyed,
and is part of the whole,
which is part of the void,
A void that encompasses
every little thing,
from Ptolemy to Pterodactyls,
everything that we perceive and cannot see
is part of an endless cosmic fractal.
Should people believe what was taught to them,
although these facts change just quite often?
Should I believe it and give it credit,
even when my spirit can't comprehend a heaven?
From tests and telescopic evidence,
his status in the solar system was lost.
And from that moment ever since,
Pluto's just a ball of permafrost,
but he still circles 'round the sun.
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6. |
Heavier-than-air
04:30
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Strong endeavors with the weather
Tether me to a thousand balloons
so I can fly.
To work up the nerve
to deserve my inertia,
to churn up a force
that'll harness not hurt ya,
I need the mind of an engineer,
I need the mind of an engineer.
Otto Lilienthal,
his artificial hills,
were conical, and beautiful,
but could kill the devil.
Leveled up against the draft,
with wings a spread
from weeks of math,
and measurements and marks were mapped,
by led, with bevel.
The trouble was to stay in tact,
his weight, it played a hefty fact,
for anything would sink like that,
even a pebble.
Even a pebble.
He was heavier, heavier, heavier, heavier
heavier-than-air.
Heavier, heavier, heavier, heavier
heavier-than-air.
Heavier, heavier, heavier, heavier
heavier-than-air.
Air….air….air….
In all honesty,
he had promised me
the adventure of the century.
Had his attempts of discovery
not ended tragically….
"Sacrifices must be made"…..
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7. |
Before You Leave
03:53
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Before you leave,
let's make the sound of
the best constellation in the sky.
It'll be a celebration
for denouncing the hesitation
which has served as a foundation
for most of your life.
Before you leave,
could you give me the new directions, please?
Or provide me with an intersection,
at the very little,
at the very least?
I'm not lost, I'm just at a loss,
can't you see?
Like, remember that night
when I walked alone?
Said I had legs, thumb, and a phone,
and if rape should come,
and if death should come,
well I'd sadly face and embrace
the outcome...
Remember that night
when I walked alone?
From Bloomingdale to the Paper Sun?
I could've died!
We all can die at any time,
My heart could stop this very second,
Yet I still feel hesitant,
To do as I want,
To do as I please!
Sometimes you have to get away,
step right out of your realm of dismay.
Through Savannah and through the plains
and into the midst of the rain,
but before you go,
you must know,
that you will be divided,
you will be divided!
So I'm dreaming of visiting cities to see,
The face of an acquaintance,
if only for a day.
So I'm dreaming of visiting cities to see,
The face of an acquaintance,
if only for a day...or even a night...
Stop this yearning from turning into anything more,
You can't live your life like a visitor
who is always on tour,
Returning to normalcy will take it's toll.
When your life lacks adventure it'll feel
slow moving and dull.
And when you come back,
you'll find yourself
questioning,
What is home?
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8. |
Neskowin
07:05
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North, south, east, west...
north, south, east, west...
north, south, east, west...
north, south, east, west...
And I wrote a song about the rhododendron
growing by the river.
And did you know that the rhododendron
resembles the mountain laurel?
And when the two get together,
they create a trifecta
with the dog hobble?
And for the hiker,
this is trouble.
'Cause it's a heath's hell,
but how heavenly the smell,
you're olfactory will be
on sensory overload.
North, south, east, west...
north, south, east, west...
north, south, east, west...
north, south, east, west...
And don't awake me not just yet.
I haven't seen today's sunset.
And don't awake me not just yet.
I haven't seen today's sunset.
And I wrote a song about the rhododendron
growing by the river.
But it wasn't 'til June
'til I saw it in bloom
past the sand dunes of Neskowin.
Oh, Neskowin,
it was too cold to swim.
But we crossed Hawk's Creek
with cold feet
to the top of Proposal Rock.
How we scrambled
as we ambled
until we reached the top.
And every now and then I fell,
so I stayed sandwiched in between
Tyler and Michelle.
And we watched the waves come in
as the waxing moon
did descend.
Shall we go to your studio
off of School House Road?
Listening to Teen Dreams in the Beach House,
in the bedroom,
but on the couch?
An hour goes by
and somehow we're together,
right now.
How I felt rejected,
but you corrected that for me,
somehow.
By saying, "This is all for you,"
but when I asked you why,
there was no reply.
But before I had to leave,
you looked me in the eyes
and mentioned synchronicity.
All of the things we try to remember,
and all of the things we then try to render.
Of all of the things we've gone through
and even did forget.
North, south, east, west...
north, south, east, west...
Whatever direction you choose,
how I hope for you the best.
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Marian McLaughlin Baltimore, Maryland
For booking or any other questions or comments feel free to email me at marianmclaughlinmusic@gmail.com
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