1978 - "Hemispheres" Lyrics

[GhostGirl]

Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres (18:08)

I. Prelude (4:27)

II. Apollo: Bringer of Wisdom (2:35)

III. Dionysus: Bringer of Love (2:05)

IV. Armageddon: The Battle of Heart and Mind (3:06)

V. Cygnus: Bringer of Balance (4:50)

VI. The Sphere: A Kind of Dream (1:05)

Circumstances (3:41)

The Trees (4:46)

La Villa Strangiato (9:35) (instrumental)

I. Buenos Nochas, Mein Froinds! (0:00)

II. To sleep, perchance to dream... ( 0:27)

III. Strangiato theme (2:00)

IV. A Lerxst in Wonderland (3:16)

V. Monsters! (5:49)

VI. The Ghost of the Aragon (6:10)

VII. Danforth and Pape (6:45)

VIII. The Waltz of the Shreves (7:26)

IX. Never turn your back on a Monster! (7:52)

X. Monsters! (Reprise) (8:03)

XI. Strangiato theme (Reprise) (8:17)

XII. A Farewell to Things (9:17)

 

 

Cygnus X-1 Book II

Hemispheres

 

I. Prelude

When our weary world was young

The struggle of the Ancients first began

The Gods of Love and Reason

Sought alone to rule the fate of Man

 

They battled through the ages

But still neither force would yield

The people were divided

Every soul a battlefield...

 

II. Apollo Bringer of Wisdom

'I bring Truth and Understanding

I bring Wit and Wisdom fair

Precious gifts beyond compare

We can build a world of wonder

I can make you all aware'

 

'I will find you food and shelter

Show you fire to keep you warm

Through the endless winter storm

You can live in grace and comfort

In the world that you transform.'

 

The people were delighted

Coming forth to claim their prize

They ran to build their cities

And converse among the wise

 

But one day the streets fell silent

Yet they knew not what was wrong

The urge to build these fine things

Seemed not to be so strong

 

The wise men were consulted

And the Bridge of Death was crossed

In quest of Dionysus

To find out what they had lost...

 

III. Dionysus Bringer of Love

'I bring Love to give you solace

In the darkness of the night

In the Heart's eternal light

You need only trust your feelings;

Only Love can steer you right'

 

'I bring Laughter, I bring Music

I bring Joy and I bring Tears

I will soothe your primal fears

Throw off those chains of Reason

And your prison disappears'

 

The cities were abandoned

And the forests echoed song

They danced and lived as brothers;

They knew Love could not be wrong

 

Food and wine they had aplenty

And they slept beneath the stars

The people were contented

And the Gods watched from afar

 

But the winter fell upon them

And it caught them unprepared

Bringing wolves and cold starvation

And the hearts of men despaired...

 

IV. Armageddon The Battle of Heart and Mind

The Universe divided

As the Heart and Mind collided

With the people left unguided

For so many troubled years

In a cloud of doubts and fears

Their world was torn asunder

Into hollow hemispheres

 

Some fought themselves, some fought each other

Most just followed one another

Lost and aimless like their brothers

For their Hearts were so unclear

And the Truth could not appear

Their spirits were divided

Into blinded hemispheres

 

Some who did not fight

Brought tales of old to light

My 'Rocinante' sailed by night

On her final flight

To the heart of Cygnus' fearsome force

We set our course

Spiralled through that timeless space

To this immortal place

 

V. Cygnus Bringer of Balance

I have memory and awareness

But I have no shape or form

As a disembodied spirit

I am dead and yet unborn

 

I have passed into Olympus

As was told in tales of old

To the city of Immortals

Marble white and purest gold

 

I see the Gods in battle rage on high

Thunderbolts across the sky

I cannot move, I cannot hide

I feel a silent scream begin inside

 

Then all at once the Chaos ceased

A stillness fell, a sudden peace

The Warriors felt my silent cry

And stayed their struggle, mystified

 

Apollo was atonished

Dionysus thought me mad

But they heard my story further

And they wondered, and were sad

 

Looking down from Olympus

On a world of doubt and fear

Its surface splintered

Into sorry hemispheres

 

They sat a while in silence

Then they turned at last to me

'We will call you Cygnus,

The god of Balance you shall be'

 

VI. The Sphere A Kind of Dream

We can walk our road together

If our goals are all the same

We can run alone and free

If we pursue a different aim

 

Let the truth of love be lighted

Let the love of truth shine clear

Sensibility

Armed with sense and liberty

With the Heart and Mind united

In a single perfect sphere

 

 

 

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Circumstances

 

A boy alone, so far from home

Endless rooftops from my window

I felt the gloom of empty rooms

On rainy afternoons

 

Sometimes in confusion

I felt so lost and disillusioned

Innocence gave me confidence

To go up against reality

 

All the same, we take our chances

Laughed at by Time

Tricked by Circumstances

Plus ca change

Plus c'est la meme chose

The more that things change

The more they stay the same

 

Now I've gained some understanding

Of the only world that we see

Things that I once dreamed of

Have become reality

 

These walls that still surround me

Still contain the same old me

Just one more who's searching for

A world that ought to be

 

 

 

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The Trees

 

There is unrest in the forest

There is trouble with the trees

For the Maples want more sunlight

And the Oaks ignore their pleas

 

The trouble with the Maples

(And they're quite convinced the're right)

They say the Oaks are just too lofty

And they grab up all the light

But the Oaks can't help their feelings

If they like the way they're made

And they wonder why the Maples

Can't be happy in their shade?

 

There is trouble in the forest

And the creatures all have fled

As the Maples scream 'Oppression!'

And the Oaks, just shake their heads

 

So the Maples formed a Union

And demanded equal rights

'The Oaks are just too greedy

We will make them give us light'

Now there's no more Oak oppression

For they passed a noble law

And the trees are all kept equal

By hatchet,

Axe,

And saw...

 

 

 

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La Villa Strangiato (instrumental)

(An Exercise in Self-Indulgence)

 

I. Buenos Nochas, Mein Froinds! (0:00)

II. To sleep, perchance to dream... ( 0:27)

III. Strangiato theme (2:00)

IV. A Lerxst in Wonderland (3:16)

V. Monsters! (5:49)

VI. The Ghost of the Aragon (6:10)

VII. Danforth and Pape (6:45)

VIII. The Waltz of the Shreves (7:26)

IX. Never turn your back on a Monster! (7:52)

X. Monsters! (Reprise) (8:03)

XI. Strangiato theme (Reprise) (8:17)

XII. A Farewell to Things (9:17)