1. |
Köyriyönä
04:34
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Kalpean turpeat kasvosi
Mua virnuillen taas tuijottaa
Hei virotkaa kurjat
Rujo kiertolaisruhtinas palaa
Vaan toiset on yöhön jo vaipuneet
Yksin sua tervehdän
Yks ryyppy mun kanssani kaada
Sen vielä teethän
Kuule mun juttuni loppuun
Minä tiedän, se kerrottu on
Vaan muista myös sun loistees
Lainaa on toisen valon
Huolella peitetty polku
Esille raivataan
Kelmeän valosi paisteeseen
Portti nyt aukeaa
Se vie vuosien taa
Taas painetaan kätemme multaan
Kaikki kimallus unohdetaan
Kai turhaan ne kurotti kultaan
Mieluummin uskollinen
Pronssinen, alati ankara hohto
Jonka alla uutetaan
Uus kitkerä, väkevä huomisen rohto
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2. |
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We set out for the hills at the break of first light
Our kindred slumbering still
Barely freed from the hazy abodes of night
Upon us a burning, burgeoning will
And it truly was as if we had been imbued
With a gift of truer sight
Tearing through the treacherous morning mist
Unveiling the blaze of primordial dawn
It truly was as if we were the first
To wander under its grace
The first to walk through these plentiful fields
On our way to the center of the world
All at once, that old familiar hill
Truly was a mountain of gold
Undaunted, we raced to climb it
Our hearts as vessels for the sun!
All things around us took the guise of a sign
Laden with secret meaning
From the flutter of birds to the toiling of ants
To the coiling of adders basking in the sun
The whole of creation invited: come forth!
The wedding feast of heaven and earth
Celebrated on this most auspicious day
Rise and partake in sacred revelry
On this summit, where belligerent brothers once clashed
In ancient times, so it's told
One struck down to the ground, one raised in triumph
One forever hidden from sight
There are strings of red and blue and strings of silver
And this is where they all meet
So shall we too ascend
Our hearts as vessels for the sun
Rise from under the soil!
Cease your gnawing of roots and rise!
Descend from the heavens above!
Cease your soaring amidst the clouds and descend!
Rise from the watery depths!
Cease your lurking and rise! Rise!
But then it dawned upon me…
If there's earth, wind and water
There must also be fire
And then it dawned upon me
He who wishes to be seen
Must also burn
But then it dawned upon me
He who dwells in those three
Also dwells in fire
And then it dawned upon me
He who wishes to be seen
Must also burn
And as we walked to that feast
Did you already know?
Wearing your smile as a veil
Did you already know?
And as we climbed that hill
As we ran to the feast
Did you already know?
With your smile as a veil
Did you already know?
Did you already know?
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3. |
Blood-morning Blossoms
03:55
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A flock of fieldfares in the sky
One hapless bird shot down
Into a hundred pieces, small
Its tiny skull now torn
Two bloody streams run from the head of
That little bird that I did shoot
One for the world-tree, one for
The thing always gnawing at its root
A little child with a grouse ensnared
In the shade of that same tree
One try not enough to wring the neck
Of that bird, not two, but three
The morn rang with that sickening crunch
One lives and one must die
The tree forked into four split trunks
To hold and carry the sky
On the eastern branch a bird of prey
Hunched and built its nest
In the nest five golden eggs
For the bold to climb and wrest
The unlucky thief met a fearsome beak
Down to the ground he fell
Accompanied by six woodpecker's knocks
Of uncanny omens they tell
And no one could quite recall whether they
Stood for death or for wealth
Three to curse and three to nurse
That poor boy back to health
Seven years since the day of that fall
One morning fateful and cold
Seven magpies for a bloodstained secret
Never to be told
The fading moon and the rising sun
Besides them no bird, no beast
They alone know what lies buried deep
Eight furlongs to the east
Oh, before nine summers have blossomed red
Nine goosewhite summers turned black
Nine ravenblack summers faded to white
There shall be no coming back
Then it will be seen how far
Things grow in the fullness of time
Ten branch-fingers capable of
Every virtuous deed or crime
Two hands to reach towards the sun
From the same root sprung
Flooded by two bloody streams
Their secret source is one
Echoed thrice and sent
To all four corners of the world
And as for the five precious things
Six warnings you have heard
Heralded by seven, hidden
By eight, by nine revealed
Ten-in-two become as one
Buried deep in the field
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4. |
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As soon as we were able, it was our lot to plow
At our fathers' bidding, to harrow and to sow
To toil, to till, to work the soil, to grow, and then to reap
And in the meantime away from the crops to keep
We listened to our mothers call for greater yield
Whisper secret words to soothe the spirits of the field
From their tales we learnt that not all fiends come out at night
And that evil often takes place in broad daylight
Do not play with fire, do not stare into the sun
Do not wander into mazes out of golden grain heads spun
Do not be a sluggard, do not do your brethren wrong
Always keep in mind: the day is short, the work is long
There once was a heedless boy and he was never found
Taken by the harvest dog, they say, the hungry barley hound
There are things that hunt by night and things that hunt by day
Promise me sweet child, from the crops keep away
In the winter our schoolmistress, a lady wise but cruel
Had taught us how the wickedness in man aspires to rule
Determined to make sure that every student understands
The perils brought upon them by their idle hands
But enveloped in the luster of those summer days
We could not help but hear the murmur of the maze
Ravenous, it called upon our restless band of eight
To go forth in secret, tempting god, tempting fate
Do not disrespect your elders, do not speak ill of the dead
Do not let the labyrinth gold rise into your little head
Do not be a glutton, do not take what isn't yours
Things have long been taken outside to let nature take its course
There's a devil stalking on the paths that twist and turn
Herding wayward children into her iron butter churn
There are always those who take heed and those who disobey
But promise me sweet child, from that path stay away
Hey-ho, he was buried, but he rises from the ground
As he grows tall and handsome, we dance round and round
As his color changes, from verdant green to gold
We know what it means: he shall not grow old
Hey-ho, we swing the sickle, we cut off his head
Let him hang and beat him, 'til he's dry and dead
Safe and sound, our bellies full, we all say thank you
Hey-ho, won't you rise for next harvest, too
After our disappearance, no stone was left unturned
Imagine their surprise, when at dusk we returned
Rebuke and righteous anger, woven with relief
And as they saw one missing, sinking hearts of grief
Daughters of the sun, they said, or demons of the noon
A spirit or an evil hag whose spell caused us to swoon
I still dread the shining hollow in the corner of my mind
Where memory and reverie merrily entwined
Do not play too near the hungry maze nor seize what you can't bear
Do not give in to the swirling gaze that drives you to despair
Do not be a braggart, do not tell a lie
The rooster by the field is waiting to pluck out your eye
There are things that lie in wait to sap your soul and will
They have lingered in the labyrinth since dawn and linger still
There are always those who wander, there are those who stray
But promise me sweet child, do not lose your way.
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5. |
Salute the Machine
10:38
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I remember clearly,
Though I was but a child
When people came to our house
They came from far and wide
They arrived to pay their tribute
To salute the new machine
They arrived to be among the first
To witness its full glory
They wanted to caress its cold and radiant hide
They wanted to dissect it with wonder in their eyes
And the old men of the village
They all scoffed and sneered
In no time this house shall be destitute and ruined
Back in their day, they had no need of such frivolous gadgets
What an ungodly contraption, a sign of sloth and pride
I remember listening with childlike indignation
I remember my uncle gently ruffling my hair
Whispering to me with a knowing smile
You see, boy, they seethe with envy
And one day they will see.
But there was one thing that I couldn't tell a soul
Never let my uncle
Nor anyone else know
From the moment I saw it, it saw me as well
I heard it speak to me
In a voice churning and low.
“Oh those grey and brittle men, they can’t hear my voice, but listen little friend
I have been here longer than they could ever even begin to comprehend.”
Terrified, I ran away and hid into my best
And most secret nook
But even there I was followed by a crooked
And ghastly gnome
"Listen boy, we're all loyal servants of the machine
And so shall you too be."
As we are, so shall you too be
And there is no hiding place from the machine.
Summers bloomed and then faded away
It was my uncle's turn to turn brittle and grey
And my turn to ride the machine
Which I no longer feared
But as its ally volunteered
To bring order out of chaos
I heeded its voice
It spoke of a sage who creates and destroys
For the fabric of the old world
It called to be torn
With fire and with force
So prosperity was born
And we struggled and we strived and saw nature transformed
And nature, in turn, it saw us transformed
And we worked without rest to the tune of my song
A song of ancient seals blasted open and undone
Of a nation of those crooked gnomes exhorting to exhume
A withered underground sun ever calling from its tomb.
In truth I never loved it,
Yet was accused of worship
Of adulation, even, of idolatry!
Though it was always duty, necessity all along
But what would they really know about its churning song?
And mother keeps asking, where has your brother gone?
Am I to be his keeper? How am I to know?
There are those who persevere and there are those who go
And it was all necessary, was it not so?
Loving warmth, but dreading the fire
Coveting wealth, but shunning work and the mire
Go on then, run away and go over the sea
But know this: there are some things that you can never flee.
This is the way it was meant all along
What could they ever know about our churning song?
Now the village stands all but abandoned
Empty abodes giving in to decay
Dwellings deserted and quietly crumbling
Amid this stillness, I still remain
And of course, with me the machine remains
And our pact remains
And the song remains
All others may go, but together we abide
I can feel how the grey draws over my brow
And its once radiant hide is not so radiant now
That familiar brittleness creeping inside
And you who went away, you can spare me your pity
Stealing away for that faraway city
To deny the machine and still suckle on its fruit
But you do not understand
It's you who salute!
They can all go to the far corners of the earth
Still they serve and
Belong to the machine
But remember, remember who stood and remember
Who stayed and looked it in the eye!
Forever locked in struggle with the machine
It has given me so much, yet I have seen
It is no friend to mankind and it will never rest
Before its all-consuming plan has been made manifest
To destroy it? I welcome you to try!
But know that in its stead, another one will rise
More vicious, more unyielding, more closely attuned
To that subterranean radiance bidding all to be consumed.
The wheels began to turn so long ago
Their song is the only song we truly know.
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6. |
Duskface & Dawnface
06:04
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Time does not march onwards in triumph
It meanders, spirals and coils
Unfolding naked under the sun
Then to sink again into a moonlit maze,
Led down lunar pathways
That lie forever in wait.
Descending duskface
Turns backwards as if
Bending time and space.
Can you see him running in the fields?
Can you see him dancing in the fields?
Emerging dawnface
Emits such grace.
This was the place, but...
How could one forget one's face?
Hands cupped together
Hunched over the shore
Duskface revealed
Reflected in the water
An ashen apparition
Warped and wilted by the years
Such is their toll
Such is their weight
Can you see him standing in the fields?
Can you see him smiling in the fields?
Duskface towers and swells
Dawnface awaits and shines still
Time flows in reverse
From the promised land
Unredeemed and unfulfilled
These words are barbarous and barbed
Let them serve as a warning
Against all fallow hopes
Let this serve as a warning
Against tomorrow's shrine.
Dawnface shrugs and laughs
Duskface is angered and roars.
We pass on our masks
But what was there before them?
Our masks pass away
But what remains beneath them?
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7. |
We Sow, We Reap
07:15
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There is the brook and the bottomless lake
There is the breeze and the tempest
There is the field and the barren ground
There is the hearth and the devouring fire.
There is a season for forgetting
And for remembering
A season for going into hiding
And for unveiling.
A current of red washes over me
And I see a myriad strings
Collapsed at the edge of the field
I am a myriad things
One put to the sword under the sun
One dwindling away in the dark
One sent to the gallows in front of a crowd
One poisoned alone and forgotten
One released after a tortuous wait
One taken away without warning.
The cranes pass over in the sky
In such gracious formation they fly
Wandering through every nation in turn
And I wonder, will they return?
Floating in the stream
Burrowed in the soil
Drifting in the whispering wind
Dancing in a faraway starry flame.
We sow and we are sown
Thrown headlong into the world
We reap and we are reaped
In our looming ripeness taken.
We sow, we reap
But brother, do not weep.
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8. |
Soihtu-unien kajoon
05:41
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Läksi aamujen alhosta
Lähti varhain vaeltamaan
Yllä aurinkoinen kehrä
Kultainen sotisopa.
Kehrän sydämessä kivi
Sinne sulamaan singottu
Hurmeen puna haalistamaan
Synnin paino syövyttämään.
Vaan ei tuli eikä aika
Tekemättömäksi taida
Tehdä sitä mikä painaa
Jäljen punokseen maailman.
Vieläkö sä näet niitä
Unia joissa ei riitä
Aika kyselyyn turhaan
Kun lähtemään kutsutaan?
Vierii ohi tuttu maa
Pronssitaivas loimuaa
Ja rinnan käymme marssien
Öiseen kajoon soihtu-unten.
Kanna taivaanrannan taakse
Muisto kiven muistuttama
Muistikiven mustuttama
Vanhan veren tahrima.
Harhaan käy vaan kerran palaa
Maata jalkain koskematta
Silmäin päivää pälyymättä
Hopeaviittaan puettuna.
Silloin sille sija suodaan
Juodaan malja sadonkorjuun
Menköön tora, menköön kauna
Hauensuolen soikuraan!
Lakkasitko sä koskaan
Näkemästä kuitenkaan
Miten meidät noudetaan
Vielä kerran nousemaan?
Oi veljet, tulen liekki lyö
Melkein sen eestä kaikkoo yö
Vielä kerran loistakaa
Pimennon halki astukaa!
Eespäin! Kajoon soihtu-unten.
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