Mortal Storm

Song Cycle by Robert Owens (1925 - 2017)

1. A house in Taos   [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
     Rain

Thunder of the Rain God:
  And we three
  Smitten by beauty.

Thunder of the Rain God:
  And we three
  Weary, weary.

Thunder of the Rain God:
  And you, she, and I
  Waiting for nothingness.

Do you understand the stillness
  Of this house
  In Taos
Under the thunder of the Rain God?

      Sun

That there should be a barren garden
About this house in Taos
Is not so strange,
But that there should be three barren hearts
In this one house in Taos --
Who carries ugly things to show the sun?

      Moon

Did you ask for the beaten brass of the moon?
We can buy lovely things with money,
You, she, and I,
Yet you seek,
As though you could keep,
This unbought loveliness of moon.

      Wind

Touch our bodies, wind.
Our bodies are separate, individual things.
Touch our bodies, wind,
But blow quickly
Through the red, white, yellow skins
Of our bodies
To the terrible snarl,
Not mine,
Not yours,
Not hers,
But all one snarl of souls.
Blow quickly, wind,
Before we run back
Into the windlessness --
With our bodies --
Into the windlessness
Of our house in Taos.

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2. Little song 
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Lonely people
In the lonely night
Grab a lonely dream
And hold it tight.

Lonely people
In the lonely day
Work to salt
Their dream away.

Lonely people.

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

3. Jaime
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
He sits on a hill
And beats a drum
For the great earth spirits
That never come.

He sits on a hill
Looking out to the sea
Toward a mirage-land
That will never be.

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4. Faithful one
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Though I go drunken to her door,
I’m ever so sure she’ll let me in.
Though I wander and stray and wound her sore,
she’ll open the latch when I come again.
No matter what I do or say,
she waits for me at the end of the day.

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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

5. Genius child  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
This is a song for the genius child.
Sing it softly, for the song is wild.
Sing it softly as ever you can --
Lest the song get out of hand.

Nobody loves a genius child.

Can you love an eagle,
Tame or wild?

Wild or tame,
Can you love a monster
Of frightening name?

Nobody loves a genius child.

Kill him -- and let his soul run wild!

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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Total word count: 369