In Power We Entrust The Love Advocated.
Sail on silver wings
Through this storm, what fortune love may bring
Back to my arms again;
The love of a former golden age.
I am disabled by fears concerning which course to take.
For now that wheels are turning,
I find my faith deserting me.
This night is filled with the cries of
Dispossesed children in search of Paradise.
A sign of unresolve that,
Envisioned, drives the pinwheel on and on.
I am disabled by fears concerning which course to take.
When memory bears witness to
The innocence consumed in a dying rage.
The way lies through our love;
There can be no other means to the end,
Or keys to my heart
You will never find.
You'll never find.
(lyrics ©1979 by Brendan Perry)
13 comments:
I can't think of anyone else's lyrics that stand so well alone, without the music. It's unnecessary, but I imagine it only enhances what Perry wrote.
Yes, he's incredibly literate. Many people will say their favorite singer/songwriter is a "poet" but in Brendan's case the man really does write lyrics that could be very good poetry on their own. That they're set to music and have a melody line and he has a strong singing voice and can inject force behind him is almost just a bonus, although a very large bonus of course. And sometimes if you don't peek at the lyrics and approach it from the musical sie first you'll think, 'what a wonderful song!' even though you may not quite pay attention to the lyrics others than a chorus or a nice phrase here and there, then when you're sufficiently familiar with the songs and you go digging into the lyrics booklet (usually their albums didn't even include them), you're astounded. 'That's what he was singing?' And it's a new layer of the onion that you can appreciate all over again.
A big reason why they're one of my favorite bands, and he one of my favorite artists. Lisa Gerrard used to get (it seemed to me) most of the accolades for having an incredibly beautiful singing voice, but I always appreciated Brendan's almost scholarly approach to "dead sound" and the mores and flavor of the past. I think he's vastly underrated, obviously. But that in itself is an attraction, because I don't know of anyone less seeking of publicity or "pushing his work" on others in by selling out - advertising, changing his style to be more commercial and less challenging, etc. It's why he's been "stuck" on 4AD all these years (a great small label, btw) when he probably could have done much better for himself financially.
And although I'm sure after all these years he's doing just fine for himself, you have to respect musical and intellectual integrity like that, not to lunge for the brass (or gold) ring while you're riding that carousel. And in person he's very soft-spoken, even shy, and extremely articular (as is Lisa). You'd be forgiven for thinking the two of them were PhDs in philosophy or literary criticism if you didn't know better. I love intelligence in my musicians :)
Arg.
'behind him' should be 'behind it'
'sie' should be 'side'
'others' should be 'other'
'sound' should be 'sounds'
'flavor' should be 'flavors'
'in by selling' = drop the 'in'
and particularly ironically:
'articular' should be 'articulate'
This is your brain on medication...
Well, something's up with mine 'cos I only noticed 'articular'.
I dunno if that says more about my skill in hiding them or about your brain's ability to skim past them!
Apparently you tend to read what you expect to be there rather that what's actually on the page, especially if the first and last letters of the word are there correctly.
You mean, apparently YOU do. I read more slowly and thoroughly and spot every mistake.
If I was certain you´d take it as a joke (and wouldn´t come back with a similar comment about my own skills at the keyboard), I´d respond with something like ´Yes, but apparently not when you´re typing´ to your previous comment.*checks to make sure that this comment is typo free*
I spotted all MY mistakes didn't I?
:)
Yes, but only after you'd read it through again. I only got the one opportunity.
You're talking about writing, I'm talking about reading. Two different things.
We gonna bicker all day? If so, where's my ring?
cool picture yet disturbing like trying to run away in a nightmare and not getting anywhere.
Never thought of it like that... but I can see your point. I hate those dreams!
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