Hymns IV
GOD IS ALIVE, MAGIC IS AFOOT,
GOD IS AFOOT, MAGIC NEVER DIED
God never sickened
many poor men lied
many sick men lied
magic never weakened
magic never hid
magic always ruled
god is afoot, god
never died.
God was ruler
though his funeral lengthened
though his mourners thickened
magic never fled
though his shrouds were hoisted
the naked god did live
though his words were twisted
the naked magic thrived
though his death was published
round and round the world
the heart did not believe.
Many hurt men wondered, many struck men bled
magic never faltered, magic always led
many stones were rolled, but god would not lie down
many wild men lied, many fat men listened
though they offered stones
magic still was fed
though they locked their coffers
god was always served.
Magic is afoot, god rules
live is afoot, alive is in command.
Many weak men hungered, many strong men thrived
though they boasted solitude
god was at their side
know the dreamer in his cell
know the captain on the hill
magic is alive
though his death was pardoned
round and round the world
the heart would not believe.
Though laws were carved in marble
they could not shelter men
though altars built in parliaments
they could not order men
police arrested magic and magic went with them
for magic loves the hungry.
But magic would not tarry
it moves from arm to arm
it would not stay with them
magic is afoot, it can not come to harm
it rests in an empty palm
it spawns in an empty mind
but magic is no instrument
magic is the end.
Many men drove magic, but magic stayed behind
many strong men lied
they only passed through magic
and out the other side
many weak men lied
they came to god in secret
and though they left him nourished
they would not tell who healed
though mountains danced before them
they said that god was dead
though his shrouds were hoisted
the naked god did live.
This I mean to whisper to my mind
this I mean to laugh within my mind
this I mean my mind to serve ‘til service is but magic
moving through the world
and mind itself is magic
coursing thru the flesh
and flesh itself is magic
dancing on a clock
and time itself
the magic length of God.
From ILLUMINATIONS
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Legend of A Girl Child Linda
I will bring you gold apples
And grapes made of rubies
That shine in the eyes of
A prince of the breeze
Bright cascading crystals
They dance in the sand dunes
On the beach of no footprints
To harpsichord tunes
A throne of white ivory
A gown of white lace
Lies still in the magic
Of a timeless place
If you follow the sunbeams
Through the valley of flowers
To the palace of the white queen
With its white jade towers
One hundred small children
Laugh at the white doves
That rest on their hands
With a touch of love
On
the hillside of velvet
The children lay down
And make fun of the grown-ups
With their silly frowns
And the sound of their laughter
Was the sound of the green sea
Where parrots are talking
Their words with such ease
Thus spoke three wizards
To the young ones that day
There’s sadness in the kingdom
Make it go far away
The
youngest she sighed
The clouds drew away
And a hundred small fingers
Scratched their heads in dismay
From out of the sun
Giant gull came flying
And the children got ready
To sit on its wing
They waved to the raindrops
As they soared o’er the sea
The wind tossed their hair high
Splashing gold on the sea
They came to the castle
And there they did fall
And they saw all the sadness
Through the crystal wall
A
princess lay sleeping
So gentle and kind
Whilst her prince took to battle
With his confused mind
The
clash of bright metal
Brought the children fear
But their cloaks of blue satin
Dried up all of their tears
The children held hands
They spelt out her name
All the golden children
Became a golden chain
It lies on the white throne
In the magic place
With a tunic of velvet
And a gown of white lace
My
sword it lies broken
And cast in the lake
In a dream I was told that
My princess would wake
Sunshine Superman
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WHAT SHALL
I SAY?
What shall I sing
to my lord from my window?
What shall I sing,
for my lord will not stay?
What shall I sing,
for my lord will not listen?
Where shall I go,
for my lord is away?
Whom shall I love when the moon is arisen?
Gone is my lord,
and the grave is his prison.
What shall I say
when my lord comes a-calling?
What shall I say
when he knocks on my door?
What shall I say
when his feet enter softly,
Leaving the marks
of his grave on my floor?
Enter my lord, come
from your prison.
Come from your grave, for the moon is arisen.
From
The Innocents
Based
on “The Turning of the Screw”
By
Henry James
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NOTHING
TO SHOW
I’ve been too long away from
your loving
Too long with my back to the
wall
I’ve been to some far away
places
With nothing to show for it
all.
I’ve been to their sights
and showcases
I’ve been to their strong
city halls
Men with black suits and no
faces
And nothing to show for it
all.
I’ve been too long away from
this country
Too
long not heeding the call
I’m cold like some war weary
soldier
With nothing to show for it
all.
I’ve taken the jive and the
jester
I’ve laughed and joked thru
it all
He
said get back to the place where you came from
You’ve got nothing to give
after all.
I’ve been too long away from
this country
Too
long not heeding the call
I’m cold like some war weary
soldier
With nothing to show for it
all.
Breathe easy, there’s someone there waiting
Someone who cares after all.
Lyrics by Thomas Halpin
Sung by Dolores Keane
SOLID GROUND
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GENERATION
Kids were sent from
heaven inside to lead you to the future
Wrap their eyes in
blindfolds & still they’ll find their way
Blind their lives with
pills & lies but soon they’ll find their vision
And soon they’ll leave
you to your yesterdays
And they’ll sing,
goodbye scars of Hitler
Goodbye Banker’s Trust
Aquarius is shinning
& the Sun is one of us
And me, I know I’m a
part of the Moon
I’m gonna leave that Moon
alone
I just wanna dance
with the rosebuds thru the summer
The media is
saturated, but the sweet grass still grows tall
And Jesse-John
Blackdeer talks to God in Cleaveland, Ohio
And Washington is
choking, but the Navaho is not
And the Senator just
arrived in Arizona
I’ve talked to seven
Congressmen, but their ears were filled with gold
That their
grandfathers had taken from the Black Hills
But it really doesn’t
matter ‘cause their children are healing well
And soon they’ll dream
the dreams my mother sends to them
And they’ll sing,
goodbye scars of Hitler
Goodbye Banker’s Trust
Aquarius is shinning
& the Sun is one of us
And me, I know I’m a
part of the Moon
I’m gonna leave that
Moon alone
I just wanna dance
with the rosebuds thru the summer
Wait for me brown-eyed
man…
“BUFFY”
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The Story of Isaac
The door it opened slowly
My
father he came in
I
was nine years old
He
stood so far above me
His
blue eyes they were shinning
And
his voice was very cold
He
said, I’ve had a vision
You
know I’m strong & holy
I
must do what I’ve been told
So
we started up the mountain
I
was running
He
was walking
And
his axe was made of gold
Then
we stopped to drink some water
The
lake was a lady’s mirror
And
he put his hand on mine
He
said, I thought I saw an eagle
But
it might have been a vulture
I
never could decide
You
who build these altars
To
sacrifice your children
You
must not do it anymore
For
a scheme is not a vision
And
you never have been tempted
By
the devil or the lord
Yes,
you who stand above us now
Your
hatchets blunt & bloody
You
were not here before
When
I lay upon the altar
My
father’s hand was trembling
With
the beauty of the word
And
if you call me brother
Forgive
me if I ask
According
to whose plan?
For
when it all comes down to dust
I
will kill you if I must
I
will love you when I can
And
may I never learn to scorn
The
body out of chaos torn
The
woman & the man
Have
mercy on all uniforms
Man
of peace, man of war
The peacock spreads his deadly fan…
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MORNING-GLORY
I
lit my purest candle close to my
Window, hoping it would catch the eye
Of any vagabond who passed it by,
And I waited inside my fleeting house.
Before he came I felt him drawing near
As he neared I felt the ancient fear
That he had come to wound my door and jeer
And I waited in my fleeting house.
“Tell me stories,” I cried to the Hobo.
“Stories of cold,” I smiled at the Hobo.
“Stories of old,” I knelt to the Hobo.
And he stood before my fleeting house.
“No,” said the Hobo, no more tales of time.
“Don’t ask me now to wash away the grime.
I can’t come in ‘cause it’s too high to climb.”
And he walked away from my fleeting house.
“Then you be damned!” I screamed at the Hobo.
“Leave me alone,” I wept to the Hobo.
“Turn into stone,” I knelt to the Hobo.
And he walked away from my fleeting house.
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crown of creation
you are the crown of creation
you are the crown of creation
and you’ve got no place to go
soon you obtain the stability you strive for
in the only place that it’s granted
in the place among the fossils of our time
in loyalty to their kind
they cannot tolerate our minds
in loyalty to our kind
we cannot tolerate their obstruction
life is change
how it differs from the rocks
i have seen their ways far too often for my liking
new worlds to gain
my life is to survive
and be alive
for you
by
paul kanter
as
found on
the worst of
jefferson airplane
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I AM THE WALRUS
I
am he as you are he as you are me and we are
all together.
See how they run like pigs from a gun see how
they fly.
I’m crying.
Sitting on a cornflake—waiting for the van to
come.
Corporation teashirt, stupid bloody Tuesday
man you been a naughty boy
you let your face grow long.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen—I am
the walrus GOO GOO GOO JOOB.
City policeman sitting pretty little policeman in a
row,
see how they fly like Lucy in the sky—see how
they run
I’m crying—I’m crying I’m crying.
Crabalocker fishwife pornographic priestess
boy you been a naughty girl,
you let your knickers down.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen—I am
the walrus GOO GOO GOO JOOB.
Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun,
if the sun don’t come, you get a tan from
standing in the English rain.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen—I am
the walrus GOO GOO GOO JOOB.
Expert
textpert choking smokers don’t you think
the joker laughs at you? Ha ha ha!
See how they smile, like pigs in a sty, see how
they snied.
I’m crying.
Semolina pilchard climbing up the Eiffel Tower.
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna man
you should have seen them kicking
Edgar Allen POE.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen—I am
the walrus GOO GOO GOO JOOB
GOO GOO GOO JOOB GOO
GOOGOOOOOOOOOOJOOOOOB
(mantra)
SMOKE POT SMOKE POT EVERYBODY
SMOKE POT
SMOKE POT SMOKE POT SMOKE POT
EVERYBODY SMOKE POT
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Updated 03/07