Saturnalia Trio "Hummingbirds" lyrics

Drum of Reverence

The sun is down

And casting its rosy glow

Flees the city over victory garden walls

Through empty marble halls

A fools moon is waxing

Above wheat-gold hills

And tender blushing maples of

September and dogwoods

Shelter the snarling blue jays

Play the drum of reverence

And set the moment into motion

Cut down the corn

By your earthy hands that sowed them

Sing aloud the elemental hymn

Let your spirit drink

The harvest potion

Play your tune to my hearts beat

And I’ll sing mine to yours

See the ring around the moon

See the clouds that near the shore

Over ghosts of mountains

We will fly

Tethered to the winds roar

Ride the length of the tide

Keep You In The Dark

You’ll never know

What hit you today

You’ll never know

What hit you today

Like a bolt from the blue

No words I’ll say

I will keep you in the dark

Plunge a steel shovel blade

Deep into the earth

Plunge a steel shovel blade

Deep into the earth

Cut your short life from your lowly berth

I will keep you in the dark

Can you keep a secret

And never tell?

I’ve held my end of the bargain

Very, very well

Find a place so cool and dry

As summer dirt

Find a place so cool and dry

As summer dirt

Throw you in a sack

Where screams cannot be heard

I will keep you in the dark

Scrub you raw and peel pale skin

With a knife

Scrub you raw and peel pale skin

With a knife

Cut out the blemishes

Scoop your sunken eyes

I will keep you in the dark

In Its Glory

As the pearly shell of winter

Breaks again

And restless dreamers awaken

A fancy overtakes, ears excitedly attuned

To the trill of birds in the coppice

And Venus is shining

Vernal and bright

As Orion fades from the ever-widening sky

In its glory

The gardener hoes and rakes the ground

Weeds a tangled plot

The woodcutter rests his back on soft sod

For respite from the long seasons chores

The luthier lays down the tools of his trade

And listens to the new song of creation

In its glory

Romantics linger in sweet herb-scented groves

While bracken ferns unfold like the tents of sprites

And antelope return to high welcome ground

Winged creatures take to the air

Like dragonfly kites

And Venus is shining

Vernal and bright

As Orion fades from the ever-widening sky

In its glory

Chase the Blues

Too many ghosts are in this town

Their faces are haunting my mind

Too many times the east wind

Shook me down from the vine

But I’ve gotta keep walking

Chase those blues away

I’m a stranger in my own sad story

Outcast typecast to a closed mindset

Nothing I can do or say will hide

Shady secrets from the past

So I’ve gotta keep walking

Down this trail of tears

My feet are aching, heart is heavy

There’s holes in both of my shoes

Red sky in morning flashes a warning

But it’s long overdue

Says I’ve gotta keep walking

Chase the blues away

Sad, Sad Summer

See the leaves falling

Green turns rust and gold

In the sad, sad summer

Before the sand turns cold

She tried to warn me

Of the impending gloom

And I just buried my head

In this chaptered tome

Remember glory days

When the robin sang for you

And everything we wished for

Was ever so true

Battered by winds that race

From the east

One crows fodder is

Another birds feast

So the curtain falls

A December days snow

The flowers of love a luxury

See the candle glow

Flicker and dance

From frosted window ledge

Through barren branch

In waning winters mirage

The Planting Song

Warm ground has been broken

By the bronze-bladed plow

And the birds from the south

Are nested here now

Celebrate! Celebrate!

The momentum of spring

Is in full swing

And the time to plant

Has come once again

Sunflower, Coriander, Borage and Corn

Melissa, Sage, Rose, Lovage and Thyme

Let us rake into the ashes of the dead

And ring life anew, ring life anew

From the gardens of last year

That we grew

And let all the laughter

And tears of our labor

Come joyously into bloom, into bloom

Sunflower, Coriander, Borage and Corn

Melissa, Sage, Rose, Lovage and Thyme

Thimbleberry Song

In the moist lushness

Beside a trickling stream

May brings silky blossoms

Unfolding like pure linen

In my dream

Your nimble arms touch

The forest bed of maiden’s hair

Under the springing weight

Of Julys seedy abundance

Gems that you wear

Sleepy Afternoon

Let’s hide our heads

Under the covers

Plump the pillows

And free the feathers

Eating saltines in flash-lit caverns

Sleepy afternoon inside

Let’s make a fortress

Old chairs and boxes

Deck of no aces up our sleeves

Crayons, pajamas

Can’t hear knocking

Loud & fuzzy transistor radio talk

Proud Father of My Garden

Slow sun is tearing

Back across this beaten path

Of our tended plot

And behold the bee balm

That tilts its fiery head

Thyme nods

And sage is wise with tipped hat

Stands beside crepe-paper poppies

With little left to say

Whispers hello

The proud father of my garden

Arises now to greet the day

Thunder marches over floodplains

And yet distant battles rage below

‘neath the same sun that bathes the topsoil

Written in leaf-lines are the names

Of every aged season

And August weeps and sighs

And the cool moon falls in September skies

You could have been told

Where on Earth the teasel grows

Long ago

Sail Out of Darkness

Greet the growing hours

Good-bye steel-grey skies

Jump up Johnny, Wake Robin

Lift your head, lift your head

Sweet Cicely, come with me

As we sail out of darkness

This Last Sad Song

Through night dark and days cold

I’ve rambled

Like the mistral wind that blows

Across the grassland

Seems twenty years ago

As the crow flies

When I was a much more joyous man

Finding you I thought I’d found

True love

But now you’ve gone

And I’ll be licking my wounds

For some time to come

In the depths of the city

Through brambles and backwater

And in the long, long hours of night

I’ll miss you still

Hope that you miss me too

For I know just how easy it is

To lay in your volatile embrace

But like an eagle

I fly best with the wind and the sky

Rushing against my wings

So good bye, good bye

My sorrows buried with the stones

Of the earth shall be

And this last sad song for

I’ll sing aloud

But you needn’t listen

All songs written by Daniel Crommie C&P 2008 New Weave

Saturnalia Trio "Of Mosaic & Muse" lyrics

Song for Guillaume (D. Crommie)

It’s almost autumn of the year

It is almost autumn of the year

Summer is nearly gone

And what was once so near to me

I can only admire from afar

I can only admire from afar

Let me feel the heart of

The land beating strong

For when the grey winter comes

And my garden falls asleep

I’ll write this poem of growing love

And I’ll sing this song

As seas of growing grasses

Waving in late august heat

Revere the changing winds

And Indian summers rhapsodize

Of our growing love, I’ll write this poem

To our growing love I’ll sing this song

Summer Dresses (D. Crommie)

In the cool of the evening

After dizzy heat of day

Summer dresses – fields of color

Along country lanes they sway

Caught in the bustle and rush

Leave the hustle of the fray

Summer dresses – fields of color

Down busy streets a-sway

Autumn dresses in fiery fleece

Winter coated in solemn grey

Spring dressed in new green satin

Summer gowns florid cotton sway

I’m fat and I am happy

Breast-fed watercolor dusk

Motherland of motherlands

My eyes satisfied thus

In the cool of the evening

After dizzy heat of day

Summer dresses – fields of color

Along country lanes they sway

Autumn dresses in fiery fleece

Winter coated in solemn grey

Spring dressed in new green satin

Summer gowns florid cotton sway

Preston Cottage (D. Crommie)

Let’s make haste to Preston cottage

Take my hand, we’ll walk the road

Last we met cherries were in bloom

Now sun is high, they’re laden with fruit

After tea we’ll tour the garden

And it’s so good to see you again

Flicker & lilac in whispering zephyr

Woven together on a filigreed page

You’ve lived alone simply, so content

Tending the roses, minding the mint

I’ll remember you when sun is low

Shadows long, with pen in hand

Let’s make haste to Preston water

Take my hand down the dusty road

Tonight we’ll gaze at starry heavens

Bible & candle in moon-lit sky

When Your World Comes Tumbling Down (D. Crommie)

Where will you sleep

When you can’t stop to rest

And who will break your fall

As you stumble from the crest

When your world comes tumbling down

Where will you flee to

When blind injustice calls

And where will you hide this time

When your team is backed against the wall

When your world comes tumbling down

Who will you finger

When plans don’t go as planned

And just who will you attack

When your foes have all been damned

When your world comes tumbling down

Did you remember the ones

Who never had far to fall

And forget the faces of players

Who never had the ball

When your world comes tumbling down

Cobwebs (D. Crommie)

Hello again my friend

I’ve come again to take your memories

Quietly to hallowed Hades

Cobwebs stretching cell to cell

Occupy your personal hell

One look inside reveals

Years of woeful neglect

Grimace as all your thoughts collect

Cobwebs stretch from side to side

Reveal the sum of all you hide

Farewell life, farewell

Adieu to what once was

Crows circle over us

Cobwebs reach up to the sky

And spirited away we’ll fly

Living in the Dark Ages (lyrics: Daniel Crommie)

Living in the dark ages
Living in the dark ages
Gilded cage, golden age
Outrage on the front page
Last time the pieces almost fit

They tell you and tell you
Go play in your own sandbox
I can almost sense the spirit
Of some familiar stranger
Creep aloft

Living in the dark ages…

The polar caps are melting
There are plenty of cubes
In the icebox
See us drilling in the desert
Won’t be a drop to spare
Then we’ll squeeze the rocks

Living in the dark ages…

Lost marbles lunatics languid
Muted outlines in atomic afterglow
Heroes in flames are falling
Still another generation
Rewinds the show

Living in the dark ages…

There’s life in the industrial park
With styrofoam stones
And aluminum birds
With a glass in our hand
Let us toast to those days
When money was cheaper than words

Living in the dark ages
Living in the dark ages
Gilded cage, golden age
Outrage on the front page
Last time the pieces almost fit

Group Du Jour "Forgotten Colors" lyrics

When the Moon Turns Blue (Crommie)

Helicopters overhead

Shake my house

Make the next-door dogs bark

But they don’t rattle me as much

As you make me aroused

I’ll be waiting for you

When the moon turns blue

Until then I’m hunting you down

Crawling on the ground again

‘Tis a modest betrayal

To play the exile

To flee instead of

Facing the fire

You’ll go on trial someday

You’re wearing your shiny new

High-heeled shoes

But in the final analysis

I get to do the dirty work

Working class boots

I’ll be waiting for you…

Playing With the Fire (P. Parker)

Playing with the fire

Your eyes of ice

Focus with greed

On death’s device

Making the chess moves

Risking the pawns

Play with fires

Of hell’s megatons

Spinning the big wheel

Throwing the dice

Pulling the handle

And risking all life

Raising the odds now

Backing the bet

With lives of the future

That haven’t lived yet

Playing with the fire

Your hand on the phone

Play with the fires

Of lives not your own

Play with the fire

Your eyes of ice

Focus with greed

On death’s device

The Ascent of Heavenly Bodies (Crommie)

The distance between me and you

Can’t be so far to travel

I must find out

I must find out more

There are not any straight lines

Between me and you

Just circles and arcs

The possibilities seem endless

See the bodies moving closer

Feel the waves of heat

That draw the spheres

Toward each other

Don’t hold still, we are fragile flowers

That only briefly bloom

Faces awash with forgotten color

The ascent of heavenly bodies

We are worlds in collision

Holding hands palm to palm

Breaking hold and spiraling back

To back to back to back we face away

Running for cover I face forward

The sky is moving, sweeping me along

The moment is current

The current is taking me

The pull is strong

Dissatisfied (Crommie)

They go so fast

Yet move too slow 

They never really last

Till the end of the show

Just when it seems

Things are on an even keel

A hole in the road

Makes the broken wheel

Dissatisfied

It’s all so large

That I seem too small

How far will I dig

Before I’m through the wall

Dragged along the current

The swollen current racing

Unable to kick my feet to

Slow acceleration

Dissatisfied

Deep inside – dissatisfied

Cannot send, cannot receive

Too bright, too cold, too hot

Too loud

Deep inside – dissatisfied

Cannot send, cannot receive

Music in the Night (Crommie)

In the back of my mind

On the tip of my tongue

I hear music in the night

Music in the night

You are the answer

That I will never question

For my secret obsession

Never question again

I am hot on the heels

Summer crickets in the field

I hear music in the night

Music in the night

Wearing of my charms

Catch your passion in my arms

For my sacred obsession

Catch your passion again

We’ll walk the road

With shadows growing longer

Absence and distance

Making hearts grow stronger…

Dance Into the Light (P. Parker)

Touched again by time

The dust slowly stirs

And raises from the dark

To light

To dance again

Dance into the light

Embracing life

And live your day

Ashes settle

Down upon the earth

To fallow lie

To wait for life

To call to life

That which did die

Dance into the light…

Heaven is the Real World (Crommie)

She’s underwater

And her eyes are still open

When she talks she is

Outside the realm of dreams

She’s running fast now

And the wind cannot catch up

She walks like she just

Stepped off the ballroom floor

Bathed in color

Beneath starlight

Heaven is the real world

She doesn’t have a thing to say

Never stops to say a word

Sleeps in the pouring rain

All covered in roses of red

Creeps on her hands and knees

Flies through the moonlight

With her ear to the ground

Heaven is the real world

Building a Fire (Crommie)

Nervous laughter

Muffled screams

It’s been lonely here

In my waking dream

Daybreak and heartbreak

Has shattered my hopes

Something tiny tells me

At the end of my rope

Building a fire

Questions, arguments

Written on walls

I have a pain in my neck

Needle stuck in your doll

Everybody’s talking about

Building the fire

No one is listening

Self-imposed exile

Building a fire

Force the Door (Crommie)

Force the door open

Prying with the fingers

Wedged between cracks

Start to move slowly

Put my foot through

Something holding on

Hands begin to slip

Never giving up

Put my leg through

Chin against the lock

Pushing very hard

Someone shouting “NO!”

Pop my head through

Take a look around

Can’t understand

Why they do this to me

Don’t they know that

I was meant to go

Try my luck again

Bolted it shut

Threw the key away

Using my fist

Knocking politely

Footsteps approach

Part way open

Rattling the chain

Eyes peeping past

Ask identification

Can’t remember my name

Mumble a prayer

Catching my breath

Shouting aloud

Can’t understand…

Still Standing (Crommie)

I know what’s good for me

If I’m good for you

Go ahead and twist my arm

I’ll give you a clue

Cut the strings

And I’m still standing

Next to you

Can’t erase mistakes

Only mend the wound

It comes back around

Lessons learned from truth

Cut the strings

And I’m still standing

Next to you

The first exposure

I offered no resistence

Each taste is the essence

I was born to live with

Cut the strings…

Place to Hide (Crommie)

Air is getting heavy

I can hardly breathe

Distant drums are beating

Birds fall from the trees

I need somewhere to hide

Promise not to tell

Need somewhere to hide

There’s no place like hell

Meet me at midnight

Just outside of town

Where oil fields burn

And dogs run wild

In electrical storms

In industrial parks

Psycological reasons

Psychological reasons

I need somewhere to hide

Promise not to tell

Somewhere to hide

There’s no place like hell

Say What You Mean (Crommie)

I’m trying hard to enjoy the pain

Say what you mean what you say

Disregard the cause – crucify effect

Say what you mean what you say

Something went wrong, but I’ll pay the price

Say what you mean what you say

There’s no competition for affection here

Say what you mean what you say

Love your intimidating charm

Flash on red eyes

Say you won’t do any harm

Overwhelm me real nice

Grab me by the neck

Twist my naïve arm

Make me love the act

Even if it’s luke warm

Your face turns to lizard

Mine’s gorilla or snake

No more subtlety this time out

Not a hair out of place

I imagine my photo

Right next to your dart board

But I just can’t wait for patience

Guess I’ll just lose the race

Man of the Hour (Crommie)

Give me something simple

I can understand

No more beating around the bush

This time I’m giving it to you straight

The man of the hour

It’s a job of danger and intrigue

Take cheap shots at others

In the league

Someday the tide will turn

Turn the other way

Then what condescension

Will you relay

Champion of mediocrity

The Man of the hour

Behind the scenes there’s another story

Twisted words that turn the sweet to sour

The man of the hour

You have such a picture-perfect

Reputation

Built on the collapsing scaffolds

Of deception

The man of the hour

Daniel Crommie "Shadowgraph" lyrics

Small World

The sleeping giant awoke

When the fence he straddled broke

Now it’s a small world

You may think the grass looks greener

Or the sky a deeper blue

But it’s still the same

We’re in a small world

A friend of a friend

Says she knows you very well

Well, it’s a small world

We may not see eye to eye

Or share the same point of view

Might as well be the same

We’re in a small world

Time to tear down the walls

The border towns have disappeared

Seasons come around, come around

Anybody who is anybody

Knows that we are everyone

Inside a small world

Inside a small world

Fear of Negative

Empty hours, warning shot acid showers

Black-face power lines wrapped in English ivy

Burned umbra viscous 3-D moon beam

Stained hands, snipped shrubs, crew-cut

Urbanite intrigue

How could you forget

It wasn’t only my undoing, friend

Laughing off the cuff at these mistakes

About to take – as of late

Make a shadow to smash this ceiling

Broken glass welcome mat, snake-skin mask

Twenty time goodbye in two minutes flat

Hollow gourd heart, vacant end full start

Overflowed river trance, feverish cold showere

Fear of negative

Yes, came here from out of nowhere

For the connection, lover

No expiration date ever set

As of yet – no regret

Moon Circle

Her face is ever-changing

And she’s moving with the tide

Moon continues circling

Never shows its’ dark side

She listens to me dream

I watch her from above

Her voice is my picture book

Our moon sings the song of love

I want to find a path

That leads to home

Through the countryside

Beneath a crescent moon

I want to learn the names

Of distant stars

With chart and compass

That points true north

The May Day

Where have you been

All these long bleak months?

When you have come back

From your winter shelter

Away from the blast

Of bitter wind

Will you be ready for the hunt

In the days that lie ahead?

Follow me down

To the grove of river trees

And recall the darkened moon

We could whistle

The fish from out of water

Or birds from

High in the sky

Make willows weep

At the sound of our song

When the calendar turns

To the May day dawn

Follow me down

To the ring of standing stones

And recall the darkened moon

Hall of Fame

I was talking to myself

On the way to the car

How they scuff chewing gum

On my solid gold star

I’m a wound-up spring

About to snap

And break into a thousand pices

Scattered in your lap

I’m a crack in the mirror

In the hall of fame…

Bad imitators banging

Cheap guitars

Climb the ninety-nine

Flights of stairs to the stars

But how do they know

That I’m really not dead

I need adulation like

A hole in the head

I’m just a smashed glass

In the hall of fame…

I tried to astound you

In glaring lights glow

Gave it my best shot

Went on with the show

Got blinded by spotlights

And broke a leg

Now I feel like a chicken

Should have never left the egg

I’m a smashed glass

In the hall of fame…

I Want to Know

I need to know

Which way is up

Question the answer

If I can’t find the truth

I want to know

Just where I stand

Help me when I find

I can’t see the ground

I want to know

What I can’t believe

I need to know

That you won’t deceive me

I want to trust

That we share this need

We’ll prepare the garden

Together plant the seed

I want to know

I need to know

The direction home

Point the way

Between right and wrong

I want to know

Perspectives new and old

Compassion to accept

Those weak and strong

I wan’t to know

What I can’t believe

I need a love

That wants to receive

I want to trust

That we share this need

To prepare the garden

Together plant the seed

I want to know

The Night is Black (Susan Burmeister)

The night is black

And I feel blacker

Days and nights roll on

Newness

Sameness

Hearts crushing

Little gasps

Slit by an open scream

From time to time

The night is black

And I feel blacker

Seasons come and go

Newness

Sameness

Memories aching

Tender things

She used to whisper

When I was afraid

The night is black

And I feel blacker

Years have passed

Newness

Sameness

Silence humming

All alone

With blackened pain

In this dark world