Fearful Symmetry

Fearful Symmetry

"Tyger, Tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"
- from "The Tiger" by William Blake
  1. A Sigh For You
  2. The Pool
  3. Sleep Silent Child
  4. Neverland Ballroom
  5. Strong Points, Weak Points
  6. Instruction Through Film
  7. When Moonlight Sleeps (On The Frosted Hill)
  8. Sudden Heaven
  9. Shadow Catcher
  10. Beautiful One

{words as listed in liner notes}
[words as actually recorded]
Diligently Compared with the Studio and Live versions, and Other Recordings in Divers Languages


A Sigh For You
Words by: Terry Taylor
Music by: Terry Taylor, Greg Flesch, Tim Chandler

A sigh for You rides the wind
A cry for You rides the wind
Seeking a world of ten thousand years
A thousand tears I cry

A sigh for You sails the sea
A cry for You sails the sea
Ghost ships that glide on the haunted deep [1]
In passion's sleep I

Drown in the tears of my brokenness
Then my Love walks on the sea
of my sorrow

A sigh for You breaks my heart
A cry for You breaks my heart
Heaven to heal every misery
each memory--I'm

Lost in the maze of my fallenness
'Til my love {is} slain on a tree
casting my shadow

A sigh for You rides the wind
A cry for You rides the wind
Seeking a world of ten thousand years
A thousand tears I cry

(spoken) I would die for you

A sigh for You
A sigh for You
A sigh for You rides the wind

[1] possibly a reference to William Blake's "Fair Elenor:"
"Deep sighs, and sees pale sickly ghosts gliding. . .


The Pool
Words by: Terry Taylor
Music by: Terry Taylor, Greg Flesch, Tim Chandler

(spoken)
"The pool is very deep and cool
and nothing here is hard to do
Nothing that should trouble you"

Shrouded forms that start and sigh
as they pass this wanderer by
Lakes that endlessly outspread
Foamy blanket river beds

Chorus:
I stand
Stand by the water
Knee deep
Deep in the fountain
Now down
I go under
Then rise up
Rise up forever

The waves then mount & tumble high
I meet the melancholy sky [1]
and all I have I count for loss
There in the clouds one single cross

(Chorus)

"Yes, deeply I have slept
{and} now I rise As one who has gone down
into the well springs of new life
Down across the milk white sands
I wade out into the sleepy cove
and bathe in the Holy stream
Then suddenly
I shatter the level mirror of the lake"

(Chorus)

Upon an everlasting tide
into the silent pool I glide
I plunge to wash this black heart clean
and rise a swan upon the wing

(Chorus)

An alternate version of this song, "stripped of keyboards and extraneous sounds, and re-recorded with a greater emphasis on guitar," can be found on the "Miracle Faith Telethon" Album.

[1] This song bears a slight resemblance to Edgar Allen Poe's very watery poem, "The City In The Sea":
"Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie.
So blend the turrets and shadows there
That all seem pendulous in air,
While from a proud tower in the town
Death looks gigantically down. . ."


Sleep Silent Child
Words by: Terry Taylor
Music by: Terry Taylor, Greg Flesch, Tim Chandler

Sleep, silent child
Steal away
(you sigh)
In starry fields
you wander there
another bright heart in God's embrace

The dazzling breathing dream
The silent searching flight
gave you the strength, at last
to live in light
I kiss
your lips
Goodnight

Sleep, silent child
Peace, be still
(Be still)
Your ears have heard
the Holy word [1]
beyond the dark world's fiery end

The time has come to leave
these distant rims of time
Forgotten days and nights
of clocks and chimes
I kiss
Your soul
Divine
Sleep, silent child

"Sleep silent child
Depart
to the Sovereign of your heart
Draw back blue curtains of [the] sky
and fly
Fly!"

Sleep, silent child
Steal away
(You sigh)
In starry fields
you wander there
another bright heart in God's embrace

The dazzling breathing dream
The silent searching flight
gives you the strength, at last
to live in light
I kiss
your lips
Goodnight

Sleep, silent child

[1] from William Blake's Introduction to "Songs of Experience"
"Hear the voice of the Bard!
Who Present, Past and Future, sees
Whose ears have heard
The Holy Word,
That walk'd among the ancient trees. . ."


Neverland Ballroom
Words by: Terry Taylor
Music by: Terry Taylor, Greg Flesch, Tim Chandler

[Stand up! (this way? that's right?), etc.]
[Table, etc.]

Neverland
You pay your money
They stamp your hand
Paradise
Dance on
thin ice

Soul to soul
Won't see the sun again
once they dance the Neverland Ballroom
Hearts on fire
Don't see the flames begin
Down at the Neverland Ballroom

Abaton
Something shining
Something wrong
Shangri-La
Mirage
She's gone

Dust to dust
Never seen alive again
once they dance the Neverland Ballroom
Blind desire
The sleep walk never ends
Down at the Neverland Ballroom

[Neverland, never never
Neverland, never]

Neverland, Neverland
They've got surprises!
They've got plans!
Down at the Neverland
Down at the Neverland Ballroom

Paradise, Paradise
Dancing cheek to cheek
and cold as ice
Down at the Neverland
Down at the Neverland Ballroom

Soul to soul
Won't see the sun again
once they dance the Neverland Ballroom
Hearts on fire
Don't see the flames begin
Down at the Neverland Ballroom

Neverland
[stand up]
[Won't see the sun again
once they dance the Neverland Ballroom]
Neverland
[stand up]
[Won't see the sun again
once they dance the Neverland Ballroom]
Neverland
[stand up]
[Won't see the sun again
once they dance the Neverland Ballroom]
Neverland
[stand up]
Won't see the sun again
once they dance the Neverland Ballroom


Strong Points, Weak Points
Words by: Terry Taylor
Music by: Terry Taylor, Greg Flesch, Tim Chandler

You were always inclined
to fall down on your knees [1]

"Yes I am always praying
through my vanities"

What was doubt in you [2]
has lost a Holy war

"What is faith in me [2]
has conquered all my world"

Chorus:
Good choice? Bad choice?
Strong points? Weak points?
Strong heart? Weak will?
Sound mind?
Time will tell you
Good choice? Bad choice?
Strong points? Weak points?
Choices crowd your mind
Strong heart? Weak will?
And still time compels you
within these lines
to read the signs
You will find the truth

You were always talking
'bout some paradise

"Yes I am always thinking
'bout the afterlife"

What was hope in you
is now your everything

"What was born in me
is now a living thing"

(Chorus)

[spoken:]
Good choice? Bad choice?
Strong points? Weak points?
Strong heart? Weak will?
Sound mind?
Time will tell)

Strong heart? Weak will?
Sound mind?
Time will tell you
Good choice? Bad choice?
Strong points? Weak points?
Choices crowd your mind
Strong heart? Weak will?
And still time compels you
within these lines
to read the signs
You will find the truth

You were always inclined
to fall down on your knees

"Yes I am always praying
through my vanities"

What was doubt in you
has lost a Holy war

"What is faith in me
has conquered all my world"

{Chorus:}

[Good choice? Bad choice?
Strong points? Weak points?
(repeat)]

[1] from Czeslaw Milosz' "Notes":
"Strong or weak point
You were always ready to fall to your knees!
Yes, I was always ready to fall to my knees."

[2] from Czeslaw Milosz' "Notes":
"Inscription to be placed over the unknown grave of L.F.
What was doubt in you, lost, what was faith in you, triumphed."


Instruction Through Film
Words by: Terry Taylor
Music by: Terry Taylor, Greg Flesch, Tim Chandler

Dad:
"And so the angel told Tom if he'd be
a good boy
He'd have God for his father
and never lack joy. [1]
Goodnight, Tom
Sleep tight, Tom."

These are not deeds that save you
for love is the fire that must claim you

Whispered half-prayers in the night
Turn off the lamp and you turn out the light

Narrator on film:
"Tom remembers to wash his hands before meals
and to brush his teeth at least three times a day
while cutting down on in-between-meal snacks."

Story book pages' rustling cease
At clock's last chime the locks released [2]
And silence beats his silent drum
Space, with gaunt eyes, bids you come

Here is the cure to avail you
God nailed on {a} [that] tree to replace you
Eclipsing the luster of light
thoughts that are dark as the darkest night

Narrator on film:
"Tom knows that proper grooming is the by-product
of a healthy attitude and high moral fiber.
Tom likes people and people like Tom."

These are your drowsy days in vain
You will not wake to sleep again
Will come the hour when you will never
sleep again but wake forever

Boys on detention
pay close attention
to sound instruction
thru film
Boys on detention
pay close attention
to sound instruction
thru film
Hey!

These are not deeds that save you
for love is the fire that must claim you
Whisper half-prayers in the night
Turn off the lamp and you turn out the light

Narrator on film:
"Tom is polite to classmates and teachers
'Please' and 'Thank You' says Tom with a smile!"

Boys on detention
pay close attention
to sound instruction
thru film...

[1] from William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper" in "Songs of Innocence"
"Then naked & white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind.
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy
He'd have God for his father & never want joy. . ."

[2] Compare to "Broken Ladders to Glory" on "Bibleland"
"playing taps upon a battered toy trumpet 'til the lock's released"


When Moonlight Sleeps (On The Frosted Hill)
Words and Music by: Terry Taylor

Yes, I will be your priest
and build a Holy fane
in untrodden regions of my heart unclaimed
And in the very midst
of this quietness
Imaginary sanctuary
will I dress

Chorus:
When the moonlight sleeps
on the frosted hill
I see you Love come dance
in the misty vale
At your gentle pass
I go remembering
about the fragrant woods
of every vanished spring

Let me be your choir
Let me be your own
and You, the heart's desire
fill my heart alone
I search the dreamy night
for my heart's delight
In faithfulness I stop to rest
and light the light

(Chorus)

My Love says "Rise, my love{"}
and come away,
Your home is in the moonlight
mine{'s} in another day"
So I launch out on the tide
across the unknown sea
My Love calls to me
Calls to me
Calls to me
Calls to me
I follow

Yes, I will be your priest
and build a Holy fane
in untrodden regions of my heart unclaimed
and in the very midst
of this quietness
imaginary sanctuary
will I dress

(Chorus)

[When the moonlight sleeps
on the frosted hill (3x)]


Sudden Heaven
Words by: Terry Taylor
Music by: Terry Taylor, Greg Flesch

Familiar scene
No dream
I look
'cross hills of green
and woodland brook

Then, pulse for pulse
The Will speaks soft and low
On waves of joy
the sweet and tearful [fearful] flow

Sudden heaven has blazed on me
Sudden heaven has blazed on me
I am taken up
I am shaken up (sudden heaven)
Where the angels praise
In the brilliant daze (sudden heaven)
Sudden heaven blazed
on me

Black map of woe
Dark hungry
night
Here in my soul
I stop the flight

The ivy taps upon the window pane
I won't resist the One who calls again
Sudden heaven has blazed on me
Sudden heaven has blazed on me

Bliss too great to tell
Bright with miracle (sudden heaven)
as it would ever be
Safe, forever free (sudden heaven)
Sudden heaven blazed
on me

My Lord
how long
will heaven keep
the days beyond
the midnight sleep?

Sudden heaven has blazed on me, yeah
Sudden heaven has blazed on me, yeah
Blazed on me, yeah

An alternate version of this song, remixed to emphasize Rob Watson's "steel guitar," can be found on the "Miracle Faith Telethon" Album.


Shadow Catcher
Words by: Terry Taylor
Music by: Terry Taylor, Tim Chandler

His eyes
make pictures when they close
He follows
pure breezes where they blow

{The} earth and ocean seem to sleep
In one another's arms and dream
He does not fear this haunted keep
But swims the shimmery boundless stream

Chorus:
Shadow catcher
Shadow catcher
Shadow catcher

His hands
turn shadows into gold
Three wonders
the spirit wind unfolds

[1]Comes the hour of his distress
when temptations do oppress
but each sin he does confess
embracing now his Unseen Guest

(Chorus)

Here the wind will sigh and weep
and all the world is drowned in sleep
yet his eyes do watch and keep
and the Spirit guides his feet
Shadow

He prays
The Lamb of God descends
He seeks
a kingdom without end

[2]Shapes that haunt thought's wilderness
these are the world's rejected guests
Glass darkly shades the final rest[3]
Still He will surely past this test

(Chorus)

Shadow catcher...

[1][2] These verses are transposed in the liner notes.
[3] "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face. . ." (1 Cor 13:12)
This verse is also referenced in Half Light, Epoch, and Phase.


Beautiful One
Words and Music by: Terry Taylor

Leaves of sound are shed
they fall
on this murmuring mind
where the lullabies call
and from these words
I sink and fall
to the beautiful one

Behold this dreamer
In the arms of the Beautiful One

Deep waters sound, who loves
that deep?
I make my way
up the toilsome steep
In green meadows
now I sleep
In the Beautiful One

Behold this dreamer
In the arms of the Beautiful One

And in the wind
a song
and moonlight on the lawn
Draw me on
and on
And thru the day
a sigh
For dreamers such as I
who steal away
to watch and pray

The night above me
whispers low
And I have many
miles to go
I will not wake
until I know
The Beautiful One

Awake the dreamer
in the arms of the Beautiful One

The night above me
whispers low
And I have many
miles to go [1]
I will not wake
until I know
The Beautiful One

Awake the dreamer
in the arms of the Beautiful One [x3]

[1] an echo of Robert Frost's Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."


All songs © 1986 Broken Records (ASCAP)
References and commentary by J. Brandon Barnes.
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