The poetry/quotation/song lyric thread

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And a sequel of sorts...

'To seek the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
To break my fast on honeydew
And drink the milk of Paradise...'

I had heard the whispered tales of immortality,
The deepest mystery -
From an ancient book I took a clue
I scaled the frozen mountain tops of eastern lands unknown,
Time and Man alone,
Searching for the lost Xanadu

Xanadu...

To stand within the Pleasure Dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan,
To taste anew the fruits of life,
The last immortal man,
To find the sacred river Alph,
To walk the caves of ice,
Oh, I will dine on honeydew
And drink the milk of Paradise...

A thousand years have come and gone but time has passed me by,
Stars stopped in the sky,
Frozen in an everlasting view
Waiting for the world to end, weary of the night,
Praying for the light -
Prison of the lost
Xanadu

Xanadu...

Held within the Pleasure Dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan,
To taste my bitter triumph
As a mad immortal man -
Nevermore shall I return,
Escape these caves of ice,
For I have dined on honeydew
And drunk the milk of Paradise...

- Neil Peart of Rush, 1977

Thanks, I was not aware that this song existed! I will see if I can listen to it.

It's the second track on the 1977 Rush album A Farewell To Kings. (The title track, which is the first one on the album, applies better to politics now than when it was written, I think...)

As I Grew Older

by Langston Hughes


It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun--
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky--
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!

The following is taken from the Poetic Edda (1200 AD), translated from the old Norse.
An account of Odin's Experience.

Down to the deepest depths I peered
I know I hung on that windy tree,
Swung there for nine long nights
Wounded by my own blade
Bloodied for Odin.
Myself an offering to myself
Bound to the tree
that no man knows
Wither the roots of it ran.
None gave me bread.
None gave me drink.

Down to the deepest depths I peered
Until I spied the Runes
With a Roaring cry I seized them up
Then dizzy and fainting I fell
Well-being I won
And wisdom too
From a word to a word
I was led to a word
From a deed to another deed.

this is some lyrics I wrote for a song that I wrote and that I will show to you guys whenever the recording gets done in the foreseeable future.

As the outreached hands poke and grasp
Doubt may arise to surround and harass
As the eyes fix that familiar steady stare
Comfort may dissolve into despair
As you fall into the lowest of places
You realize that you’re just running bases
As the fire burns through the chaos that’s you
Can you burn the sky to a brighter hue?

With every choice that you make
People come and go as you ache

Take your hatchet, swipe with all you’re might
make your own gauges, ascend to your own shelf
Remember that as you fall you’re alive;
you’re alive because you fall

Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled;
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led;
Welcome to your Glory Bed,
Or to Glorious Victorie.
Now's the day, and now's the hour;
See the front o' battle lour;
See approach proud Edward's pow'r.
Chains and slavery!

Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn and flee!
Wha for Scotland's King and Law
Freedom's sword will strongly draw,
Freeman stand or freeman fa'
Caledonian! Let him on we' me!

By Opression's woes and pains!
By your sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free!
Lay the proud usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
Liberty's in every blow!
Forward! Let us do or dee!

NIN - Everyday is exactly the same

I believe I can see the future
Cause I repeat the same routine
I think I used to have a purpose
Then again, that might have been a dream

I think I used to have a voice
And now I never make a sound
I just do what I've been told
I really don't want them to come around, oh no

Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here, and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same

I can feel their eyes are watching
In case I lose myself again
Sometimes I think I'm happy here
Sometimes, yeah, I still pretend

I can't remember how this got started
Oh, but I can tell you exactly how it will end

Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here, and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same

I'm writing on a little piece of paper
I'm hoping someday you will find
Well, I'll hide it behind something
They won't look behind

I am still inside here
A little bit comes bleeding through
I wish this could have any other way
Oh, but I just don't know, I don't know what else I can do

Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here, and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same

Every day is exactly the same (every day)
Every day is exactly the same (there is no pain)
There is no love here, and there is no pain (every day)
Every day is exactly the same (every day is the same)

All so serious. I know lots of serious ones too, but i gotta break this trend. Plus Bazza might like this one.

A limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical.
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean,
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.

I also like this:

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely p****! O p**** my love,
What a beautiful p**** you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful p**** you are!'

Am feeling very Welsh today, so here's a good Welsh one. (Also sung in the film Zulu).

Men of Harlech

Men of Harlech! In the Hollow,
Do ye hear like rushing billow
Wave on wave that surging follow
Battle's distant sound?
Tis the tramp of Saxon foemen,
Saxon spearmen, Saxon bowmen,
Be they knights or hinds or yeomen,
They shall bite the ground!
Loose the folds asunder,
Flag we conquer under!
The placid sky now bright on high,
Shall launch its bolts in thunder!
Onward! 'tis the country needs us,
He is bravest, he who leads us
Honor's self now proudly heads us,
Freedom, God and Right!

Rocky Steeps and passes narrow,
Flash with spear and flight of arrow
Who would think of death or sorrow?
Death is glory now!
Hurl the reeling horsemen over,
Let the earth dead foemen cover
Fate of friend, of wife, of lover,
Trembles on a blow!
Strands of life are riven!
Blow for blow is given
In deadly lock, or battle shock,
And mercy shrieks to heaven!
Men of Harlech! young or hoary,
Would you win a name in story?
Stike for home, for life, for glory!
Freedom, God and Right!

Ah, I feel better for that.

Loreena McKennitt's The Mummers Dance

When in the springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair

When owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light


Chorus:
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay


Who will go down to those shady groves
And summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
In the springtime of the year


The songs of birds seem to fill the wood
That when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland days


Chorus


And so they linked their hands and danced
Round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
When all the shades are gone


"A garland gay we bring you here
And at your door we stand
It is a sprout well budded out
The work of our Lord's hand"


Chorus (2x)


and the vid. its a beautiful song. Ignore the video. Its the music that counts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE9yS9BUWzA

Special words created for the film Zulu in 1964

Men of Harlech stop your dreaming
Can't you see their spear points gleaming
See their warrior's pennants streaming
To this battle field

Men of Harlech stand ye steady
It cannot be ever said ye
For the battle were not ready
Stand and never yield

Form the hills rebounding
Let this war cry sounding
Summon all at Cambria's call
The mighty force surrounding

Men of Harlech onto glory
This shall ever be your story
Keep these fighting words before ye
Cambria (Welshmen never) will not yield

Melbourne Grammar School's song is to the tune "Men of Harlech". Their lyrics are about football and sporting greatness and starts off "Come along you dark blue 20 ...) [in Aussie rules, the team is 18 + 2 reserves = 20)

I forget the rest. We used to tease them by singing "Come along you dark blue 20, 18 ?????men will be plenty ...."

Everybody knows what's going wrong with the world
I don't ever know what's going on in my self

Lord, Ive been here for so long, I can feel it coming down on me
Im just a slow emotion replay of somebody I used to be

This one is for rideforever. What you said resounded in my and I thought of this song.

Leonard Cohen - "everybody knows"

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
Thats how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that youve been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows youve been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
Thats how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
Thats how it goes
Everybody knows

And everybody knows that its now or never
Everybody knows that its me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when youve done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old black joes still pickin cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the plague is coming
Everybody knows that its moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But theres gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what youve been through
From the bloody cross on top of calvary
To the beach of malibu
Everybody knows its coming apart
Take one last look at this sacred heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
Thats how it goes
Everybody knows

Oh everybody knows, everybody knows
Thats how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows

it was only one hour ago
it was all so different then
there’s nothing yet has really sunk in
looks like it always did
this flesh and bone
is just the way that we are tied in
now there's no-one home

i grieve for you
you leave me
it’s so hard to move on
still loving what's gone
they say life carries on
they say life carries on and on and on and on

the news that truly shocks is the empty, empty page
while the final rattle rocks its empty, empty cage
and i can't handle this

i grieve for you
and you leave me

let it out and move on
missing what's gone
they say life carries on
they say life carries on and on and on

life carries on
in the people i meet
in everyone that's out on the street
in all the dogs and cats
in the flies and rats
in the rot and the rust
in the ashes and the dust
life carries on and on and on and on
life carries on and on and on

it’s just the car that we ride in
the home we reside in
the face that we hide in
the way we are tied in
life carries on and on and on and on
life carries on and on and on

did i dream this belief?
or did i believe this dream?
now i can find relief
i grieve

It's better if you HEAR it.http://youtube.com/watch?v=bbItz_NAIEs& ... ed&search=
this song got me through the murder of my oldest daughter(she was 19) It's so much more beautiful when it's being sung. It was my favorite song on the CD and I listened to it all the time, then when she got killed I could't bring myself to listen to it for about 2 years. Since I love physics, it really spoke to me, since I also believe nothing ever REALLY dies.(just changes form) As you can see the last verse is my signature. Don't really care about larry king and all,you'll know why I wrote that if you go listen to the song.