Early morning Manhattan,
Ocean winds blow on the land. The Movie-Palace is now
undone, The all-night watchmen have had their fun.
Sleeping cheaply on the midnight show, It's the same old
ending - time to go. Get out! It seems
they cannot leave their dream. There's something moving in the
sidewalk steam, And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
Nightime's flyers feel their pains.
Drugstore takes down the chains. Metal motion comes in
bursts, But the gas station can quench that thirst.
Suspension cracked on unmade road The trucker's eyes read
'Overload' And out on the subway,
Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid Exits into daylight, spraygun hid,
And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
The lamb seems right out of place, Yet the Broadway street scene
finds a focus in its face. Somehow it's lying there,
Brings a stillness to the air. Though man-made light, at night is very
bright, There's no whitewash victim, As the
neons dim, to the coat of white. Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid,
Wipes his gun - he's forgotten what he did, And
the lamb lies down on Broadway.
Suzanne tired her work
all done, Thinks money-honey-be on-neon.
Cabman's velvet glove sounds the horn And the sawdust king spits
out his scorn. Wonder women draw your blind!
Don't look at me! I'm not your kind. I'm Rael!
Something inside me has just begun, Lord knows what I have
done, And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
On Broadway- They say the lights are always bright on Broadway.
They say there's always magic in the air.
Fly On A Windshield
There's something solid forming in the air,
The wall of death is lowered in Times Square. No-one seems
to care, They carry on as if nothing was there.
The wind is blowing harder now, Blowing dust into my eyes.
The dust settles on my skin, Making a
crust I cannot move in And I'm hovering like a fly, waiting for the
windshield on the freeway.
Broadway Melody of 1974
Echoes of the Broadway Everglades,
With her mythical madonnas still walking in their shades: Lenny
Bruce, declares a truce and plays his other hand. Marshall Mcluhan,
casual viewin', head buried in the sand. Sirens on the rooftops wailing,
but there's no ship sailing. Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone
with his punchline failing. Klu Klux Klan serve hot soul food and the
band plays 'In the Mood' The cheerleader waves her cyanide wand,
there's a smell of peach blossom and bitter almonde.
Caryl Chessman sniffs the air and leads the parade, he knows in a scent, s
you can bottle all you made. There's Howard Hughes in blue suede shoes,
smiling at the
majorettes smoking Winston Cigarettes.
And as the song and dance begins, the children play at home
with needles; needles and pins.
Cuckoo Cocoon
Wrapped up in some powdered wool - I guess I'm losing touch.
Don't tell me this is dying, 'cos I ain't changed that much.
The only sound is water
drops, I wonder where the hell I am, Some kind of jam?
Cuckoo cocoon have I come to, too soon for you?
There's nothing I can recognise; this is nowhere that I've known.
With no sign of life at all, I guess that I'm alone,
And I feel so secure that I know this can't be real but I feel good.
Cuckoo cocoon have I come to, too soon for you?
I wonder if I'm a prisoner locked up in some Brooklyn jail
- or some sort of Jonah shut up inside the whale.
No - I'm still Rael and I'm stuck in some kind of cave,
what could've saved me?
Cuckoo cocoon have I come to, too soon for you?
In The Cage
There's
sunshine in my stomach Like I just rocked my baby to sleep.
There's sunshine in my stomach And I can't
keep me from creeping sleep, Sleep, deep in the deep.
Rockface moves to press my skin
White liquids turn sour within Turn fast - turn sour
Turn sweat - turn sour. Must tell myself that I'm not here.
I'm drowning in a liquid fear. Bottled in a strong compression,
My distortion shows obsession In
the cave. Get me out of this cave!
If I keep my self-control, I'll be safe in my soul.
And the childhood belief Brings a moment's relief,
But my cynic soon returns And the lifeboat burns.
My spirit just never learns.
Stalactites, stalagmites
Shut me in, lock me tight. Lips are dry,
throat is dry. Feel like burning, stomach churning,
I'm dressed up in a white costume Padding out leftover room.
Body stretching, feel the wretching
In the cage Get me out of this cage!
In the glare of a light, I see a strange kind of sight;
Of cages joined to form a star Each person can't go very far;
All tied to their things They are netted
by their strings, Free to flutter in memories of their wasted wings.
Outside the cage I see my Brother John,
He turns his head so slowly round.
I cry out Help! before he can
be gone, And he looks at me without a sound.
And I shout 'John please help me!' But he does not even want to try
to speak. I'm helpless in my violent rage And a
silent tear of blood dribbles down his cheek, And I watch him turn
away and leave the cage. My little runaway.
In a trap, feel a strap Holding still. Pinned for kill.
Chances narrow that I'll make it, In the cushioned
straight-jacket. Just like 22nd Street,
When they got me by my neck and feet. Pressures building, can't
take any more. My headaches charge. My earaches roar.
In the pain Get me out of this pain.
If I could change to liquid, I could fill the cracks up in the rock.
But I know that I am solid And I am
my own bad luck. But outside John disappears and my cage dissolves,
and without any reason my body revolves.
Keep on turning, Keep on turning,
Turning around, spinning around.
The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging
'The last great adventure left
to mankind' - Screams a drooping lady offering
her dreamdolls at less than extortionate prices, and as the notes
and coins are taken out I'm taken in, to the factory floor.
For the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging
- All ready to use the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging
- just need a fuse.
Got people stocked in every shade,
Must be doing well with trade. Stamped, addressed, in odd
fatality. That evens out their personality.
With profit potential marked by a sign, I can recognise some of the
production line, No bite at all in labour bondage,
Just wrinkled wrappers or human bandage.
The Grand
Parade of Lifeless Packaging - All ready to use
It's the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging -just need a
fuse.
The hall runs like clockwork
Their hands mark out the time, Empty in their fullness
Like a frozen pantomime. Everyone's a sales representative
Wearing slogans in their shrine. Dishing
out failsafe superlative, Brother John is No. 9.
For the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging - All ready to
use It's the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging
- just need a fuse.
The decor on the ceiling
has planned out their future day I see no sign of free will,
so I guess I'll have to pay, pay my
way, for the Grand Parade. for the Grand
Parade of Lifeless Packaging - All ready to use
the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging - just need a fuse.
Back In N.Y.C.
I see faces and
traces of home back in New York City- So you think I'm a tough kid?
Is that what you heard? Well I like to see some action and it gets into
my blood. The call me the trail blazer - Rael - electric razor.
I'm the pitcher in the chain gang, we don't believe in pain 'cos we're
only as strong, as the weakest link in the chain. Let me out of
Pontiac when I was just seventeen, I had to get it out of me, if you know
what I mean, what I mean.
You say I must be crazy, 'cos I don't
care who I hit, who I hit. But I know it's me that's hitting out and I'm not
full of shit. I don't care who I hurt, I don't care who I do wrong.
This is your mess I'm stuck in, I really don't belong. When I take out
my bottle, filled up high with gasoline, You can tell by the night fires
where Rael has been, has been.
As I cuddled the
porcupine He said I had none to blame, but me.
Held my heart, deep in hair, Time to shave, shave it off, it off.
No time for romantic escape, When your
fluffy heart is ready for rape. No! Off we go.
You're sitting in your comfort you don't believe I'm real, You cannot
buy protection from the way that I feel. Your progressive hypocrites
hand out their trash, But it was mine in the first place, so I'll burn it to
ash. And I've tasted all the strongest meats,
And laid them down in coloured sheets. Who needs illusion of
love and affection When you're out walking the streets with your mainline
connection? connection.
As I cuddle the porcupine
He said I had none to blame, but me. Held
my heart, deep in hair. Time to shave, shave it off, it off.
No time for romantic escape, When your fluffy heart is ready for
rape. No!
Hairless Heart (Instrumental)
Counting Out Time
I'm counting out time,
Got the whole thing down by numbers.
All those numbers! Give my guidance!
O Lord I need that now.
The day of judgement's come,
And you can bet that I've been resting, for this testing,
Digesting every word the experts say.
Erogenous zones I love you.
Without you, what would a poor boy do?
Found a girl I wanted to date,
Thought I'd better get it straight.
Went to buy a book before's too late.
Don't leave nothing to fate. And I have
studied every line, every page in the book, And now I've got the real thing
here, I'm gonna take a look, take a look.
This is
Rael!
I'm counting out time, hoping it goes like I planned it,
'cos I understand it. Look! I've found the hotspots, Figs 1-9.
- still counting out time, got my finger on the button, 'Don't say
nuttin - just lie there still And I'll get you turned on just fine.'
Erogenous zones I love you. Without you,
what would a poor boy do?
Touch and go with 1-6.
Bit of trouble in zone No. 7. Gotta
remember all of my tricks. There's heaven ahead in No. 11!
Getting crucial responses with dialation of the pupils.
'Honey get hip! It's time to unzip, to unzip. Whipee!' - Move
over Casanova -
I'm counting out time, reaction none to happy,
Please don't slap me, I'm a red blooded male
and the book said I could not fail. I'm counting out time, I got unexpected
distress from my mistress, I'll get my money back from the bookstore
right away. Erogenous zones I question you-
Without you, what would a poor boy do? Without you, mankind
handkinds thru' the blues.
The Carpet Crawlers
There is lambswool under my naked feet. The wool is soft and
warm, - 'gives off some kind of heat. A
salamander scurries into flame to be destroyed. Imaginary creatures
are trapped in birth on celluloid. The fleas cling to the golden
fleece, Hoping they'll find peace. Each
thought and gesture are caught in celluloid. There's no hiding in
my memory. There's no room to void.
The crawlers cover the floor in the red ochre corridor. For my second
sight of people, they've more lifeblood than before. They're moving.
They're moving in time to a heavy wooden door, Where the needle's
eye is winking, closing on the poor. The carpet crawlers heed
their callers: 'We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out.'
There's only one direction in
the faces that I see; It's upward to the ceiling, where the chambers said
to be. Like the forest fight for sunlight, that takes root in every tree.
They are pulled up by the magnet, believing that they're free.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers: 'We've got to get in to
get out We've got to get in to get out.'
Mild mannered supermen are held in kryptonite, And the wise and foolish
virgins giggle with their bodies glowing bright. Through the door a
harvest feast is lit by candlight; It's the bottom of a staircase that
spirals out of sight. The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
'We've got to get in to get out We've got to get in to get out.'
The porcelain mannikin with shattered skin fears attack.
The eager pack lift up their pitchers - they carry all they lack. The liquid
has congealed, which has seeped out through the crack, And the
tickler takes his stickleback. The carpet crawlers heed their
callers: 'We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out.'
The Chamber Of 32 Doors
At the top of the stairs, there's hundreds of people, running
around to all the doors. They try to find themselves an audience;
their deductions need applause.
The
rich man stands in front of me, The poor man behind my back.
They believe they can control the game, but
the juggler holds another pack.
I need someone to believe in,
someone to trust. I need someone to believe in, someone to trust.
I'd rather trust a countryman than a townman,
You can judge by his eyes, take a look if you can, He'll smile
through his guard, Survival trains hard. I'd
rather trust a man who works with his hands, He looks at you once,
you know he understands, Don't need any shield,
When you're out in the field.
But down here,
I'm so alone with my fear, With everything that I hear.
And every single door, that I've walked through Brings me
back here again, I've got to find my own way.
The priest and the magician, Singing all the chants that they have
ever heard;
they're all calling out my name,
Even academics, searching printed word.
My father to
the left of me, My mother to the right,
Like everyone else they're pointing But nowhere feels quite
right.
And I need someone to believe in, someone to trust.
I need someone to believe in, someone to trust.
I'd rather trust a man who doesn't shout what he's found, There's no
need to sell if you're homeward bound. If I chose a side,
He won't take me for a ride.
Back inside This chamber of so many doors;
I've nowhere to hide. I'd give you all of my dreams, if you'd help me,
Find a door That doesn't lead me
back again - take me away.
Lilywhite Lilith
The chamber was in confusion - all the voices shouting loud.
I could only just hear, a voice quite near say, 'Please help me
through the crowd' 'Said if I helped her thru' she could help me too, but
I could
see that she was wholly blind. But from
her pale face and her pale skin, a moonlight shined.
Lilywhite Lilith, She gonna take you thru' the tunnel of night.
Lilywhite Lilith, She gonna lead you
right.
When I'd led her through the people, the angry noise began to
grow. She said 'Let me feel the way the breezes blow, and I'll show
you where to go.' So I followed her into a big
round cave, she said 'They're
coming for you, now don't be afraid.' Then she sat me down on a cold stone throne, carved in jade.
Lilywhite Lilith, She gonna take
you thru' the tunnel of night. Lilywhite Lilith,
She gonna lead you right.
She leaves me in my darkness,
I have to face my fear, And the darkness
closes in on me, I can hear a whirring sound growing near.
I can see the corner of the tunnel, Lit up by whatever's coming
here. Two golden globes float into the room
And a blaze of white light fills the air.
The Waiting Room (Instrumental)
Anyway --
All the pumping's nearly over for my sweet heart,
This is the one for me, Time to meet
the chef, O boy! running man is out of death. Feel
cold and old, it's getting hard to catch my breath. 's back to ash,
'now, you've had your flash boy' The rocks, in time, compress
your blood to oil, your flesh to
coal, enrich the soil, not
everybody's goal.
Anyway, they say she comes on a plate
horse, But I'm sure I hear a train. O boy!
I don't even feel no pain - I guess I must be driving myself insane.
Damn it all! does earth plug a hole in heaven,
Or heaven
plug a hole in earth - 'how wonderful to be so profound, when
everything you are is dying underground.'
I feel the pull on the
rope, let me off at the rainbow. I could have been exploding in
space Different orbits for my bones Not
me, just quietly buried in stones, Keep the deadline open with my
maker! See me stretch; for God's elastic acre
The doorbell rings and it's 'Good morning Rael
So sorry you had to wait. It won't be long, yeh!
She's very rarely late.'
The Supernatural Anaesthetist
Here comes the supernatural anaesthetist.
If he wants you to snuff it
All he has to do is puff it
- he's such a fine dancer.
The Lamia
The scent
grows richer, he knows he must be near, He finds a long
passageway lit by chandelier. Each step he takes, the perfumes
change From familiar fragrance to flavours strange.
A magnificent chamber meets his eye.
Inside, a long rose-water
pool is shrouded by fine mist. Stepping in the moist silence, with a warm
breeze he's gently kissed.
Thinking he is quite alone,
He enters the room, as if it were his own, But
ripples on the sweet pink water Reveal some company unthought
of - Rael stands astonished doubting his sight,
Struck by beauty, gripped in fright; Three vermilion snakes of
female face, The smallest motion, filled with grace.
Muted melodies fill the echoing hall, But there is no sign of warning
in the siren's call: 'Rael welcome, we are the Lamia of the pool.
We have been waiting for our waters to bring you cool.'
Putting fear beside him, he trusts in beauty blind He slips into the
nectar, leaving his shredded clothes behind. 'With their tongues, they
test, taste and judge all that is mine. They move in a series of
caresses That glide up and down my spine.
As they nibble the fruit of my flesh, I feel no pain, Only a magic
that a name would stain. With the first drop of my blood in their
veins Their faces are convulsed in mortal pains.
The fairest cries, 'We all have loved you, Rael'.'
Each
empty snakelike body floats, Silent sorrow in empty boats.
A sickly sourness fills the room, The bitter
harvest of a dying bloom. Looking for motion I know I will not
find, I stroke the curls now turning pale, in which I'd lain entwined.
'O Lamia, your flesh that remains I will take as my food'
It is the scent of garlic that lingers on my chocolate fingers.
Looking behind me, the water turns icy blue, The lights are dimmed and
once again the stage is set for you.
Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats (Instrumental)
The Colony of Slippermen
The Arrival
Rael:
I wandered lonely as a cloud,
Till I came upon this dirty street. I've never seen a stranger
crowd; Slubberdegullions on squeaky feet,
Continually pacing, With nonchalant embracing,
Each orifice disgracing And one facing me moves to say 'hellay'.
His skin's all covered in slimy lumps.
With lips that slide across each chin. His twisted limbs like
rubber stamps Are waved in welcome say 'Please join in.'
My grip must be flipping, Cos his
handshake keeps slipping, My hopes keep on dipping
And his lips keep on smiling all the time.
Slipperman:
'We, like you, have tasted love.
Don't be alarmed at what you see, You yourself are just the
same As what you see in me.'
Rael:
Me, like you? like that!
Slipperman:
'You better watch it son, your sentence has only just
begun You better run and join your brother John.'
A Visit To The Doktor
Slipperman:
'You're in the colony of slippermen.
There's no who? why? what? or when?
You get out if
you've got the gripe To see, Doktor Dyper, reformed sniper -
he'll whip off your windscreenwiper
Rael:
John and I are able To face the
Doktor and his marble table.
The Doktor:
Understand Rael, it's the end of your tail.
Rael:
'Don't delay, dock the dick!' I
watch his countdown timer tick......
The Raven
He places the number into a tube, A yellow plastic
'shoobedoobe'. It says: 'Though your fingers may tickle
You'll be safe in our pickle.' Suddenly, black cloud comes down
from the sky. It's a supersize black bird that sure can fly.
The raven brings on darkness and night He
flies right down, gives me one hell of a fright. He takes the tube
right out of my hands Man, I've got to find out where that black bird
lands.
'Look here John, I've got to run
I need you now, you going to come?'
He says to me.
John:
'Now can't
you see Where the raven flies there's jeopardy.
We've been cured on the couch Now you're sick with your
grouch. I'll not risk my honey pouch Which
my slouch will wear slung very low.'
Rael:
He walks away and leaves me once again.
Even though I never learn, I'd hoped he'd show just some concern.
I'm in agony of Slipperpain I pray
my undercarriage will sustain. The chase is on, the pace is hot
But I'm running so very hard with everything I've got.
He leads me down an underpass Though it narrows, he still flies
very fast, When the tunnel stops I catch
sight of the tube, just as it drops. I'm on top of a bank, too steep to
climb, I see it hit the water, just in time,
to watch it float away.
Ravine (Instrumental)
The Light Dies Down On Broadway
As he walks along the gorge's edge,
He meets a sense of yesteryear. A window
in the bank above his head Reveals his home amidst the streets.
Subway sounds, the sounds of complaint
The smell of acid on his gun of paint. As it carves out anger in a
blood-red band, Destroyed tomorrow by an unknown hand;
- My home. Is this the way out from this endless scene?
Or just an entrance to another dream? And the light dies down on
Broadway.
But as the skylight beckons him to leave,
He hears a scream from far below. Within the raging water, writhes
the form Of brother John, he cries for help.
The gate is fading now, but open wide, But John is drowning, I
must decide Between the freedom I had in the rat-race,
Or to stay forever in this forsaken place; Hey John!
He makes for the river and the gate is gone, Back to the void
where it came from. And the light dies down on Broadway.
Riding The Scree
Struggling
down the slope, There's not much hope.
I begin to try to ride the scree, but the rocks are tumbling all
around me.
If I want John alive,
I've got to ditch my fear - take a dive, While I've still got my drive
to survive.
Evel Knievel, you got nothing on me.
Here I go!
In The Rapids
Moving down the water John is drifting out of sight,
It's only at the turning point That you find out how to fight.
In the cold, feel the cold all
around And the rush of crashing water
Surrounds me with its sound.
Striking out to reach you,
I can't get through to the other side, When
you're racing in the rapids There's only one way, that's to ride.
Taken down, taken down by
the undertow And I'm spiralled down the river bed,
My fire is burning low.
Catching hold of a rock that's firm,
I'm waiting for John to be carried past. We hold
together and shoot the rapids fast.
And when the waters
slow down The dark and the deep
have no-one left to keep. Hang on John! We're out of this at last.
Something's changed, that's not your face.
It's mine!
it
When it's
cold, it comes slow. it is warm, just watch it grow.
- all around me. it is here. it is now.
Just a little bit of it can bring you up or down. Like the supper it is
cooking in your hometown. it is chicken, it is eggs, it is in between your legs. it is walking on the moon,
leaving your cocoon.
it is the jigsaw, it is purple haze.
it never stays in one place, but it's not a passing phase, it is in the singles bar, in the distance of the face, it is in between the
cages, it is always in a space it is here. it is now.
Any rock can be made to roll, If
you've enough of it to pay the toll. it has no home in words or
goal, Not even in your favourite hole. it
is the hope for the dope. When you ride the horse without a hoof.
it is shaken not stirred; Cocktails on
the roof.
When you eat right fru it you see everything alive
it is inside spirit, with enough grit to survive If you
think it's pretentious, you've been taken for a ride. Look across the
mirror, before you choose de cide it is here. it is now it is Real. it is Rael