Post by The Smurf on Jan 9, 2008 18:17:51 GMT -5
Well, if I could ever get my computer to stop freezing when I try to upload recordings, I'd have some music for you. Until then, we have to settle for words.
Anyway, for those who don't know, Horizons is a story derived from FBOP, and has been adapted to the format of a rock opera. The original "album" consisted of twelve songs, only half relating to the story. I have since rewritten the "album" to consist of ten songs, each telling a part of the story. As far as songwriting goes, Horizons is my absolute best work.
So, if you have the time, I'd love to hear some comments/criticisms on the lyrics/story. It's a bit long, but here's the whole thing.
1. Horizons (Overture/Journey of Faith/The Prophecy/Into the Horizon)
I. Overture
(At the dawn of time, as it is told, the gods wrote a book that prophesied the future of the world. This book became law, and the rulers used it to govern the people with an iron fist. For centuries, we believed in the prophecy. Free will…was only a myth.)
II. Journey of Faith
(After years of struggle, a party of heroes set out to put an end to the tyranny of the prophecy. They fought for our freedom.)
Long ago a battle was won
A verdict was made, an adventure begun
To amend our blind way of life
Based on the stars and the moon’s pallid light
And the judgment of the wind
And the fury of the flame
And the feeling in their hearts that will never be the same
And the forces of the earth
And the wonder on the wave
That urged them to embark on this journey of faith
Long ago a story was told
Of the heroes who changed the cultures of old
A party set out on a journey of faith
To fight for free will and release us from fate
III. The Prophecy
(The dust settled on the battlefield. We watched, standing atop the bluff overlooking the moor. The sun began to rise, shedding its pale light over the fields and reflecting off the lake. A new day, free of despotism, was born.)
A new day is on the horizon
No tragic heroes of the legends of old
The pages turn the chapter of the story
And the prophecy is never told
A new day is on the horizon
The despots and the prophets who were wrong
Elusive dreams now forming fables
And the prophecy, the prophecy is gone
Into the distance the world is calm and still
Their clandestine resistance spawns the birth of free will
A new day is on the horizon
The ephemeral gods looked down at us and said
The spirit of the earth shall keep on living
For the prophecy, the prophecy is dead
IV. Into the Horizon
(We are shackled no longer by the chains of fate. We have the will to move forward, and stare our dreams in the eye. Let this new wave of freedom push us, propel us forward, into the horizon.)
2. Life as a Vagrant (The Old Man/Reflections/The Beginning)
I. The Old Man
(I’ve lived for quite some time in the service of the Covenant. As a young man traveling to maintain order in society I met someone who told me a story. His story was powerful enough to make me question my own motives. Now, as a dying old man, I can still remember his words.)
Well as an old man lying on my deathbed
I’ve got a story telling where my road’s led
Searching for the answer I traveled up the east coast
Looking for a reason to change my life again
And these are my memories
The dreadful story of my life
I want to know the answers, I want to know the answers
And this is my eulogy
The dreadful tribute to my life
I want to know the answers, I want to know the answers
Well as a young man walking on my own two feet
I met a wise man walking down an empty street
I’ll tell you what he told me - he looked me in the eye
He said, “Remember, some day you’ll die”
II. Reflections
(Throughout my turbulent life I’ve wondered if I was truly doing the right thing. How can we truly be free if we still cling to the prophecy? The wise man may be right, but I have my own duties as a Covenant Elder to uphold. This paradox eats at my very soul every day of my fading life.)
Well as a wise man I made my choices
And as a strong man I followed voices
And as a young man I walked alone
And as an old man I die alone
And now I’m broken from walking too far
Down the path that led me here
And now I’ve spoken my whole heart out
And now I’m out of time
III. The Beginning
(You’ve heard my final plea. You must find the wise man, who lives in the mountains across the sea. I’ve made the wrong choice for too long, and now I must set things right. Do not grieve for me; let my passing initiate the beginning of your journey of faith.)
These are my memories
The dreadful story of my life
I want to know the answers, I want to know the answers
And this is my eulogy
The dreadful tribute to my life
I want to know the answers, the answers, the answers
3. Red Skies at Night
(We’ve reached the port, as the old man instructed. I feel strange, excited and nervous at the same time. None of us know what to expect when we reach the other side of the horizon. It’s as if the open sea is calling out to us.)
The sky burns bright on the northern shore
The day quickly fades into the wasteland of the waves
The sea beckons like an open door
The moon’s guiding light like a beacon in the night
Adventure lies ahead
Sail onward, into the setting sun
It’s only a matter of time
Until we reach our final destination
Deep questions gather in my mind
What lies ahead eludes our imagination
The blood red sky over the open sea
A premonition or a mystifying vision
The fading lines seem to call to me
Crying out in pain like the harsh autumn rain
Disaster lies ahead
Sail onward, into the setting sun
It’s only a matter of time
Until we reach our final destination
Deep questions gather in my mind
What lies ahead eludes our imagination
4. Category 5
(The reign of terror that the prophecy creates ravages the land like a horrifying storm. It’s becoming easier to see why the old man wanted to break away from the Covenant. We’re getting ever closer to finding the wise man; we’ll let him tell us the truth.)
As the black wind begins to howl
The tide recedes and surges storm the shore
We’ve got to flee to higher ground
Nothing short of chaos is all we’re waiting for
This is not a test, this is not a test
It’s the calm before the storm
Then the tide comes crashing down
The rain stings like needles
As the wind whips round and round
Thunder cracks and lightning flares
In this category five
The storm rages onward
And there’s nothing left alive
Nothing we can do to hold it back
It storms the land and ravages the sea
Nothing exists to stand in its way
It destroys everything its eye can see
This is not a test, this is not a test
5. Seaside Sunset (Residual Aftermath/The Ascent)
I. Residual Aftermath
(As we progress even closer to finding the wise man, we arrive at the other side. A storm has since wrecked much of the town, but the residual rainbow is beautiful. As the sun sets over this rainfall hollow, we head east, to the snowy mountains.)
II. The Ascent
(We must weather out the harsh wind as we climb. As we ascend, I begin to wonder what this pilgrimage really means. Why are we the ones who should go against the Covenant? I guess we’ll discover that answer soon enough. Just as we think we’re about to die, we see a light in the distance. We’ve made it to the wise man’s home.)
6. …Like Clockwork
(When we finally found the wise man, he spoke to us in riddles. He told us about the Covenant, and how he and the old man broke away. He realized why the prophecy was an abomination…though he would not tell us his reasons. Instead, he advised that we look to nature…the timeless rivers that flow without a government to order them to do so.)
A wise man once said
No man can change time
The current flows onward
The clock continues to chime
Age old science fiction
Screaming from the past
But fiction is merely fiction
The river flows like clockwork
A pressing stream of uncertain fate
But man’s free will drives him onward
In a vision, or a dream of something great
A wise man once said
No one can change the past
A mistaken fortune
Creates a ripple that fades at last
A prophecy of the dreamer
A premonition on the wave
But a vision is merely a vision
The river flows like clockwork
A pressing stream of uncertain fate
But man’s free will drives him onward
In a vision, or a dream of something great
Like clockwork
7. Aurora Borealis
(Night stretches out over the mountaintop. We sit together in the snow, watching nature play colors in the sky. The colors displayed in the Northern Lights somehow allow me to understand the wise man’s riddles. Maybe I finally know what this journey is actually about…)
The equinox approaches
As winter turns to spring
We gather in the snowy fields
To see what gifts the sky will bring
The array of colors
In the magnetosphere
Ignite the starlit skies
Such a heavenly view from here
O Northern Lights
Goddess of the dawn
Solar winds are blowing from the north
O Northern Lights
A plasma field of glory
Solar winds are flowing back and forth
Charged ionic particles
Collide in eternal light
Flashes in the polar zones
Form astral showers in the night
The rainbow effect
In our atmosphere
Delighting starry eyes
Such a heavenly view from here
O Northern Lights
Goddess of the wind
Horizons glow with flashing beams of light
O Northern Lights
A palette of chromatic glory
Heaven’s artists painting in the night
O Northern Lights
Goddess of the dawn
Solar winds are blowing from the north
O Northern Lights
A palette of chromatic glory
Astral showers dancing back and forth
8. Stardust
(This is a dark, trying part of our journey. We’re struggling to find the truth behind all of the stories we’ve been told. Sometimes we get lost in this darkness. Sometimes, our only choice is to look to the sky. The wise man cryptically told us where to go. Take my hand, and I will show you the way.)
I know what it feels like
In a desolated dream
With the universe distorted
Nothing is what it seems
There is only one direction:
Into the darkness of the night
Use the starlit skies
And reach the light
Look to the sky and you’ll be all right
Follow the stars into the night
Take my hand and I’ll lead you through
Cause you know I’ll be there for you
The turbulence of blindness
And fear of the unknown
Creating ghostly apparitions
A haunting of your own
Just know I’m right beside you
I’ll help you make it through
The stars are shining bright with
My love for you
Look to the sky and you’ll be all right
Follow the stars into the night
Take my hand and I’ll lead you through
Cause you know I’ll be there for you
When the stardust falls…when the stars burn out
When the stars fall
9. Digits (Out of the Darkness/Epiphany)
I. Out of the Darkness
(After what felt like days of trying to discover the truth inside of ourselves, we’ve finally emerged from the darkness. As the sun rises and the stars disappear, I begin to feel as if this journey of faith has a deeper meaning than destroying the prophecy.)
II. Epiphany
(I feel euphoric, coming to such a spiritual epiphany. The wise man was right, we don’t need fate to tell us how to live. It seems so obvious now. We need the freedom of our own, independent choices. We must choose free will. We must now confront the Covenant. We set off, into the horizon once more.)
10. The Illusionist (The Crowe/Hall of Mirrors/Shattered Illusions/Beyond the Horizon)
I. The Crowe
(This is it…the moment we’ve been waiting for. We’ve found our enemy, and we’re ready to end this struggle against fate once and for all. The crow has issued its final cry. We will be victorious.)
The clock strikes at twelve
The morning slowly fades
Between bursts of the burning sun
We see the enemy in the shade
The crow, upon its perch
Gazes out over the battlefield
Malignantly drawing a fine line
Between illusion and what is real
II. Hall of Mirrors
(The Illusionist tries to deceive us by clouding our judgment. He tries to make us believe that we are the ones who are wrong. But we won’t be fooled. We’ve come too far and endured too much to turn back. Our resolve is pure.)
Your drug is kicking in
Our minds are scattered
Fly away to the fading light
Reality is shattered
We’ve let things get this far
We’ve blindly followed your call
Never once did we resist
Could we be the enemy after all?
No
All along we’ve thought this through
We’ve made our final choice
Your illusions won’t blind us now
Free will must have a voice
A mirror may capture infinity
But your reflection stays the same
This battle’s won. It’s over
It’s time you give up the game
Crowe
III. Shattered Illusions
(As the final battle draws to a close, we can taste the freedom that is blowing in on a new wind. These winds of freedom have allowed us to shatter the lies and deceit of The Crowe. With one final swipe, the fight is over. The battle is won.)
Feel the rush of a new wind in the air
The night departs and the sun is slowly rising
The crow has fallen, now we can see
See what lies beyond this horizon
Life flows in a circle
Like a river with no end or start
The edict that brought us together
Ultimately tore us all apart
A door has now been opened
And we can clearly see
The edge of a new horizon
Our world is finally free
IV. Beyond the Horizon
(This is where our story ends. A new day is born, and the gods of fate have vanished from our world. The journey of faith has come to a close, the prophecy is dead, and the world is free. This freedom, this new wave of free will, has propelled us into the horizon.)
Anyway, for those who don't know, Horizons is a story derived from FBOP, and has been adapted to the format of a rock opera. The original "album" consisted of twelve songs, only half relating to the story. I have since rewritten the "album" to consist of ten songs, each telling a part of the story. As far as songwriting goes, Horizons is my absolute best work.
So, if you have the time, I'd love to hear some comments/criticisms on the lyrics/story. It's a bit long, but here's the whole thing.
1. Horizons (Overture/Journey of Faith/The Prophecy/Into the Horizon)
I. Overture
(At the dawn of time, as it is told, the gods wrote a book that prophesied the future of the world. This book became law, and the rulers used it to govern the people with an iron fist. For centuries, we believed in the prophecy. Free will…was only a myth.)
II. Journey of Faith
(After years of struggle, a party of heroes set out to put an end to the tyranny of the prophecy. They fought for our freedom.)
Long ago a battle was won
A verdict was made, an adventure begun
To amend our blind way of life
Based on the stars and the moon’s pallid light
And the judgment of the wind
And the fury of the flame
And the feeling in their hearts that will never be the same
And the forces of the earth
And the wonder on the wave
That urged them to embark on this journey of faith
Long ago a story was told
Of the heroes who changed the cultures of old
A party set out on a journey of faith
To fight for free will and release us from fate
III. The Prophecy
(The dust settled on the battlefield. We watched, standing atop the bluff overlooking the moor. The sun began to rise, shedding its pale light over the fields and reflecting off the lake. A new day, free of despotism, was born.)
A new day is on the horizon
No tragic heroes of the legends of old
The pages turn the chapter of the story
And the prophecy is never told
A new day is on the horizon
The despots and the prophets who were wrong
Elusive dreams now forming fables
And the prophecy, the prophecy is gone
Into the distance the world is calm and still
Their clandestine resistance spawns the birth of free will
A new day is on the horizon
The ephemeral gods looked down at us and said
The spirit of the earth shall keep on living
For the prophecy, the prophecy is dead
IV. Into the Horizon
(We are shackled no longer by the chains of fate. We have the will to move forward, and stare our dreams in the eye. Let this new wave of freedom push us, propel us forward, into the horizon.)
2. Life as a Vagrant (The Old Man/Reflections/The Beginning)
I. The Old Man
(I’ve lived for quite some time in the service of the Covenant. As a young man traveling to maintain order in society I met someone who told me a story. His story was powerful enough to make me question my own motives. Now, as a dying old man, I can still remember his words.)
Well as an old man lying on my deathbed
I’ve got a story telling where my road’s led
Searching for the answer I traveled up the east coast
Looking for a reason to change my life again
And these are my memories
The dreadful story of my life
I want to know the answers, I want to know the answers
And this is my eulogy
The dreadful tribute to my life
I want to know the answers, I want to know the answers
Well as a young man walking on my own two feet
I met a wise man walking down an empty street
I’ll tell you what he told me - he looked me in the eye
He said, “Remember, some day you’ll die”
II. Reflections
(Throughout my turbulent life I’ve wondered if I was truly doing the right thing. How can we truly be free if we still cling to the prophecy? The wise man may be right, but I have my own duties as a Covenant Elder to uphold. This paradox eats at my very soul every day of my fading life.)
Well as a wise man I made my choices
And as a strong man I followed voices
And as a young man I walked alone
And as an old man I die alone
And now I’m broken from walking too far
Down the path that led me here
And now I’ve spoken my whole heart out
And now I’m out of time
III. The Beginning
(You’ve heard my final plea. You must find the wise man, who lives in the mountains across the sea. I’ve made the wrong choice for too long, and now I must set things right. Do not grieve for me; let my passing initiate the beginning of your journey of faith.)
These are my memories
The dreadful story of my life
I want to know the answers, I want to know the answers
And this is my eulogy
The dreadful tribute to my life
I want to know the answers, the answers, the answers
3. Red Skies at Night
(We’ve reached the port, as the old man instructed. I feel strange, excited and nervous at the same time. None of us know what to expect when we reach the other side of the horizon. It’s as if the open sea is calling out to us.)
The sky burns bright on the northern shore
The day quickly fades into the wasteland of the waves
The sea beckons like an open door
The moon’s guiding light like a beacon in the night
Adventure lies ahead
Sail onward, into the setting sun
It’s only a matter of time
Until we reach our final destination
Deep questions gather in my mind
What lies ahead eludes our imagination
The blood red sky over the open sea
A premonition or a mystifying vision
The fading lines seem to call to me
Crying out in pain like the harsh autumn rain
Disaster lies ahead
Sail onward, into the setting sun
It’s only a matter of time
Until we reach our final destination
Deep questions gather in my mind
What lies ahead eludes our imagination
4. Category 5
(The reign of terror that the prophecy creates ravages the land like a horrifying storm. It’s becoming easier to see why the old man wanted to break away from the Covenant. We’re getting ever closer to finding the wise man; we’ll let him tell us the truth.)
As the black wind begins to howl
The tide recedes and surges storm the shore
We’ve got to flee to higher ground
Nothing short of chaos is all we’re waiting for
This is not a test, this is not a test
It’s the calm before the storm
Then the tide comes crashing down
The rain stings like needles
As the wind whips round and round
Thunder cracks and lightning flares
In this category five
The storm rages onward
And there’s nothing left alive
Nothing we can do to hold it back
It storms the land and ravages the sea
Nothing exists to stand in its way
It destroys everything its eye can see
This is not a test, this is not a test
5. Seaside Sunset (Residual Aftermath/The Ascent)
I. Residual Aftermath
(As we progress even closer to finding the wise man, we arrive at the other side. A storm has since wrecked much of the town, but the residual rainbow is beautiful. As the sun sets over this rainfall hollow, we head east, to the snowy mountains.)
II. The Ascent
(We must weather out the harsh wind as we climb. As we ascend, I begin to wonder what this pilgrimage really means. Why are we the ones who should go against the Covenant? I guess we’ll discover that answer soon enough. Just as we think we’re about to die, we see a light in the distance. We’ve made it to the wise man’s home.)
6. …Like Clockwork
(When we finally found the wise man, he spoke to us in riddles. He told us about the Covenant, and how he and the old man broke away. He realized why the prophecy was an abomination…though he would not tell us his reasons. Instead, he advised that we look to nature…the timeless rivers that flow without a government to order them to do so.)
A wise man once said
No man can change time
The current flows onward
The clock continues to chime
Age old science fiction
Screaming from the past
But fiction is merely fiction
The river flows like clockwork
A pressing stream of uncertain fate
But man’s free will drives him onward
In a vision, or a dream of something great
A wise man once said
No one can change the past
A mistaken fortune
Creates a ripple that fades at last
A prophecy of the dreamer
A premonition on the wave
But a vision is merely a vision
The river flows like clockwork
A pressing stream of uncertain fate
But man’s free will drives him onward
In a vision, or a dream of something great
Like clockwork
7. Aurora Borealis
(Night stretches out over the mountaintop. We sit together in the snow, watching nature play colors in the sky. The colors displayed in the Northern Lights somehow allow me to understand the wise man’s riddles. Maybe I finally know what this journey is actually about…)
The equinox approaches
As winter turns to spring
We gather in the snowy fields
To see what gifts the sky will bring
The array of colors
In the magnetosphere
Ignite the starlit skies
Such a heavenly view from here
O Northern Lights
Goddess of the dawn
Solar winds are blowing from the north
O Northern Lights
A plasma field of glory
Solar winds are flowing back and forth
Charged ionic particles
Collide in eternal light
Flashes in the polar zones
Form astral showers in the night
The rainbow effect
In our atmosphere
Delighting starry eyes
Such a heavenly view from here
O Northern Lights
Goddess of the wind
Horizons glow with flashing beams of light
O Northern Lights
A palette of chromatic glory
Heaven’s artists painting in the night
O Northern Lights
Goddess of the dawn
Solar winds are blowing from the north
O Northern Lights
A palette of chromatic glory
Astral showers dancing back and forth
8. Stardust
(This is a dark, trying part of our journey. We’re struggling to find the truth behind all of the stories we’ve been told. Sometimes we get lost in this darkness. Sometimes, our only choice is to look to the sky. The wise man cryptically told us where to go. Take my hand, and I will show you the way.)
I know what it feels like
In a desolated dream
With the universe distorted
Nothing is what it seems
There is only one direction:
Into the darkness of the night
Use the starlit skies
And reach the light
Look to the sky and you’ll be all right
Follow the stars into the night
Take my hand and I’ll lead you through
Cause you know I’ll be there for you
The turbulence of blindness
And fear of the unknown
Creating ghostly apparitions
A haunting of your own
Just know I’m right beside you
I’ll help you make it through
The stars are shining bright with
My love for you
Look to the sky and you’ll be all right
Follow the stars into the night
Take my hand and I’ll lead you through
Cause you know I’ll be there for you
When the stardust falls…when the stars burn out
When the stars fall
9. Digits (Out of the Darkness/Epiphany)
I. Out of the Darkness
(After what felt like days of trying to discover the truth inside of ourselves, we’ve finally emerged from the darkness. As the sun rises and the stars disappear, I begin to feel as if this journey of faith has a deeper meaning than destroying the prophecy.)
II. Epiphany
(I feel euphoric, coming to such a spiritual epiphany. The wise man was right, we don’t need fate to tell us how to live. It seems so obvious now. We need the freedom of our own, independent choices. We must choose free will. We must now confront the Covenant. We set off, into the horizon once more.)
10. The Illusionist (The Crowe/Hall of Mirrors/Shattered Illusions/Beyond the Horizon)
I. The Crowe
(This is it…the moment we’ve been waiting for. We’ve found our enemy, and we’re ready to end this struggle against fate once and for all. The crow has issued its final cry. We will be victorious.)
The clock strikes at twelve
The morning slowly fades
Between bursts of the burning sun
We see the enemy in the shade
The crow, upon its perch
Gazes out over the battlefield
Malignantly drawing a fine line
Between illusion and what is real
II. Hall of Mirrors
(The Illusionist tries to deceive us by clouding our judgment. He tries to make us believe that we are the ones who are wrong. But we won’t be fooled. We’ve come too far and endured too much to turn back. Our resolve is pure.)
Your drug is kicking in
Our minds are scattered
Fly away to the fading light
Reality is shattered
We’ve let things get this far
We’ve blindly followed your call
Never once did we resist
Could we be the enemy after all?
No
All along we’ve thought this through
We’ve made our final choice
Your illusions won’t blind us now
Free will must have a voice
A mirror may capture infinity
But your reflection stays the same
This battle’s won. It’s over
It’s time you give up the game
Crowe
III. Shattered Illusions
(As the final battle draws to a close, we can taste the freedom that is blowing in on a new wind. These winds of freedom have allowed us to shatter the lies and deceit of The Crowe. With one final swipe, the fight is over. The battle is won.)
Feel the rush of a new wind in the air
The night departs and the sun is slowly rising
The crow has fallen, now we can see
See what lies beyond this horizon
Life flows in a circle
Like a river with no end or start
The edict that brought us together
Ultimately tore us all apart
A door has now been opened
And we can clearly see
The edge of a new horizon
Our world is finally free
IV. Beyond the Horizon
(This is where our story ends. A new day is born, and the gods of fate have vanished from our world. The journey of faith has come to a close, the prophecy is dead, and the world is free. This freedom, this new wave of free will, has propelled us into the horizon.)