Sucks: Rock Lyrics of the Early 70s
The human speicies has produced some astonishing eras of bad writing. "Modernism" comes to mind, when T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound ruled the world with claptrap. And yet perhaps no bad writing is quite as bad as the rock lyrics of the early seventies, when idiots we re taken by others and by themselves to be geniuses. Detailed comments on the quasi-pagan theology, pretentious hooha, and downright senseless gobbledygook in what follows seem unnecessary.
The Battle of Evermore (Led Zep IV)
Queen of Light took her bow, And then she turned to go,
The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom, And walked the night alone.
Oh, dance in the dark of night, Sing to the morning light.
The dark Lord rides in force tonight, And time will tell us all.
Oh, throw down your plow and hoe, Rest not to lock your homes.
Side by side we wait the might of the darkest of them all.
I hear the horses' thunder down in the valley below,
I'm waiting for the angels of Avalon, waiting for the eastern glow.
The apples of the valley hold, The seeds of happiness,
The ground is rich from tender care, Repay, do not forget, no, no.
Dance in the dark of night, sing to the morning light.
The apples turn to brown and black, The tyrant's face is red.
Oh war is the common cry, Pick up your swords and fly.
The sky is filled with good and bad that mortals never know.
Oh, well, the night is long the beads of time pass slow,
Tired eyes on the sunrise, waiting for the eastern glow.
The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of aftermath,
The drums will shake the castle wall, the ring wraiths ride in black, Ride on.
Sing as you raise your bow, shoot straighter than before.
No comfort has the fire at night that lights the face so cold.
Oh dance in the dark of night, Sing to the morning light.
The magic runes are writ in gold to bring the balance back. Bring it back.
At last the sun is shining, The clouds of blue roll by,
With flames from the dragon of darkness, the sunlight blinds his eyes.
Ooh, Bring it back, Bring it back...
"Breathe," Pink Floyd
Breathe, breathe in the air
Don't be afraid to care
Leave but don't leave me
Look around and choose your own ground
Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be
Run, rabbit run
Dig that hole, forget the sun
And when at last the work is done
Don't sit down it's time to dig another one
For long you live and high you fly But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race towards an early grave
"Tarkus," Emerson, Lake, and Palmer"
I. STONES OF YEARS
Has the dawn ever seen your eyes?
Have the days made you so unwise?
Realize, you are.
Have you talked to the winds of time,
Then you'd know how the water rhyme.
Taste of wine,
How can you know where you've been?
In time you're gonna see the sign,
And realize your sin.
Will you know how the seed is sown?
All your times have been overgrown,
Never known.
Have you walked on the stones of years?
When you speak, is it you that hears?
Are your ears full?
You can't hear anything at all.
II. MASS
The preacher said a prayer,
Save ev'ry single hair on his head.
He's dead.
The minister of hate had just arrived too late to be spared.
Who cared?
The weaver in the web that he made!
The pilgrim wandered in,
Commiting ev'ry sin that he could
So good...
The cardinal of grief was set in his belief he'd saved
From the grave
The weaver in the web that he made!
The high priest took a blade
To bless the ones that prayed,
And all obeyed.
The messenger of fear is slowly growing, nearer to the time,
A sign.
The weaver in the web that he made!
A Bishop rings a bell,
A cloak of darkness fell across the ground,
Without a sound!
The silent choir sing and in their silence,
Bring jaded sound, harmonic ground.
The weaver in the web that he made!
III. BATTLEFIELD
Clear the battlefield and let me see
All the profit from our victory.
You talk of freedom, starving children fall.
Are you deaf when you hear the season's call?
Were you there to watch the earth be scorched?
Did you stand beside the spectral torch?
Know the leaves of sorrow turned their face,
Scattered on the ashes of disgrace.
Every blade is sharp; the arrows fly
We're the victims of your armies lie,
Where the blades of grass and arrows rain
Then there will be no sorrow,
Be no pain.
Space Oddity (Bowie)
| Ground control to major tom Ground control to major tom Take your protein pills and put your helmet on Ground control to major tom Commencing countdown, engines on Check ignition and may god''s love be with you Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, Four, three, two, one, liftoff This is ground control to major tom You''ve really made the grade And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear Now it''s time to leave the capsule if you dare This is major tom to ground control I''m stepping through the door And I''m floating in a most peculiar way And the stars look very different today For here Am I sitting in a tin can Far above the world Planet earth is blue And there''s nothing I can do Though I''m past one hundred thousand miles I''m feeling very still And I think my spaceship knows which way to go Tell me wife I love her very much she knows Ground control to major tom Your circuit''s dead, there''s something wrong Can you hear me, major tom? Can you hear me, major tom? Can you hear me, major tom? Can you.... Here am I floating round my tin can Far above the moon Planet earth is blue And there''s nothing I can do. |
Roundabout," Yes
I''ll be the roundabout
The words will make you out ''n'' out
And change the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and in and out the valley
The music dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I'll spend the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and in and out the valley
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we''ll be there and we''ll see you
Ten true summers we''ll be there and laughing too
Twenty four before my love you''ll see I''ll be there with you
I will remember you
Your silhouette will charge the view
Of distance atmosphere
Call it morning driving thru the sound and even in the valley
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we''ll be there and we''ll see you
Ten true summers we''ll be there and laughing too
Twenty four before my love you''ll see I''ll be there with you
Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching down on the land
Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees the rim of the land
The eagles dancing wings create as weather spins out of hand
Go closer hold the land feel partly no more than grains of sand
We stand to lose all time a thousand answers by in our hand
Next to your deeper fears we stand
Surrounded by a millions years
I''ll be the round about
The words will make you out ''n'' out
I''ll be the round about
The words will make you out ''n'' out
I''ll be the round about
The words will make you out ''n'' out
And change the day your way
Call it morning driving thru the sound and in and out the valley
In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we''ll be there and we''ll see you
Ten true summers we''ll be there and laughing too
Twenty four before my love you''ll see I''ll be there with you
