Story Behind The Song
i was thinking of an evening in late february in england some 40 years ago. i was on a bus and had been reading Lewis's "chronicles of narnia", so my head was full of fantastic images...from my vantage point on the upper deck of the bus, i could see on the horizon the sun glowing under a vast blanket of grey-brown cloud...rather like an approaching chinook in Canada...i was looking forward to the warmer spring and summer months...this song emerged from this memory...
Song Description
song with 5 nonsense, or at least rather unrelated topics
the instrumentation includes guitar, bass and electric saz (both picked and slide) very unconventional use...
| Song Length |
3:58 |
Genre |
Folk - Contemporary, Unique - Unclassified |
| Tempo |
Slow (71 - 90) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
Serene, Composed |
Subject |
Tonight, Night, Evening, Sanity/Insanity |
| Similar Artists |
Leo Kottke |
Language |
English |
Lyrics
dreams for the insane
by the magic of the last rays of the sun
in the embers of the day
the birds of paradise take up their evensong
and the crickets start to pray
homer drifting in his wine-dark sea of words
waiting for the muse to speak
night is close now and thoughts become absurd
hand poised to write succumbs to sleep
and in their dreams the trees grow wings and learn to fly
leaves shimmer in the sun
taken by the wind far up into the sky
their freedom finally won
marie celeste waits for her captain and her crew
her sails and banners still unfurled
ready to plough the waves beyond the ocean blue
anxious to find a brave new world
in Alexandria a library survives;
and in Jerusalem a grail
some claim their holiness and seek them all their lives
but without faith they'll surely fail