Momentary Lapse of Reason

 
 
 
 

                       Signs of Life (Inst)
 
 
 

                       Learning to Fly
                       Into the distance, a ribbon of black
                       Stretched to the point of no turning back
                       A flight of fancy on a windswept field
                       Standing alone my senses reeled
                       A fatal attraction holding me fast, how
                       Can I escape this irresistible grasp?
                       Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
                       Tongue-tied and twisted Just an earth-bound misfit, I
                       Ice is forming on the tips of my wings
                       Unheeded warnings, I thought I thought of everything
                       No navigator to guide my way home
                       Unladened, empty and turned to stone
                       A soul in tension that's learning to fly
                       Condition grounded but determined to try
                       Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
                       Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I
                       Above the planet on a wing and a prayer,
                       My grubby halo, a vapour trail in the empty air,
                       Across the clouds I see my shadow fly
                       Out of the corner of my watering eye
                       A dream unthreatened by the morning light
                       Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night
                       There's no sensation to compare with this
                       Suspended animation, A state of bliss
                       Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
                       Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I
 
 
 

                       The Dogs of War
                       Dogs of war and men of hate
                       With no cause, we don't discriminate
                       Discovery is to be disowned
                       Our currency is flesh and bone
                       Hell opened up and put on sale
                       Gather 'round and haggle
                       For hard cash, we will lie and deceive
                       Even our masters don't know the web we weave
                       One world, it's a battleground
                       One world, and we will smash it down
                       One world ... One world
                       Invisible transfers, long distance calls,
                       Hollow laughter in marble halls
                       Steps have been taken, a silent uproar
                       Has unleashed the dogs of war
                       You can't stop what has begun
                       Signed, sealed, they deliver oblivion
                       We all have a dark side, to say the least
                       And dealing in death is the nature of the beast
                       One world, it's a battleground
                       One world, and we will smash it down
                       One world ... One world
                       The dogs of war don't negotiate
                       The dogs of war won't capitulate,
                       They will take and you will give,
                       And you must die so that they may live
                       You can knock at any door,
                       But wherever you go, you know they've been there before
                       Well winners can lose and things can get strained
                       But whatever you change, you know the dogs remain.
                       One world, it's a battleground
                       One world, and we will smash it down
                       One world ... One world
 
 
 

                       One Slip
                       A restless eye across a weary room
                       A glazed look and I was on the road to ruin
                       The music played and played as we whirled without end
                       No hint, no word her honour to defend
                       I will, I will she sighed to my request
                       And then she tossed her mane while my resolve was put to
                       the test
                       Then drowned in desire, our souls on fire
                       I lead the way to the funeral pyre
                       And without a thought of the consequence
                       I gave in to my decadence
                       One slip, and down the hole we fall
                       It seems to take no time at all
                       A momentary lapse of reason
                       That binds a life for life
                       A small regret, you won't forget,
                       There'll be no sleep in here tonight
                       Was it love, or was it the idea of being in love?
                       Or was it the hand of fate, that seemed to fit just like a
                       glove?
                       The moment slipped by and soon the seeds were sown
                       The year grew late and neither one wanted to remain alone
                       One slip, and down the hole we fall
                       It seems to take no time at all
                       A momentary lapse of reason
                       That binds a life for life
                       A small regret, you won't forget,
                       There'll be no sleep in here tonight
                       One slip ... one slip
 
 
 

                       On the Turning Away
                       On the turning away
                       From the pale and downtrodden
                       And the words they say
                       Which we won't understand
                       "Don't accept that what's happening
                       Is just a case of others' suffering
                       Or you'll find that you're joining in
                       The turning away"
                       It's a sin that somehow
                       Light is changing to shadow
                       And casting it's shroud
                       Over all we have known
                       Unaware how the ranks have grown
                       Driven on by a heart of stone
                       We could find that we're all alone
                       In the dream of the proud
                       On the wings of the night
                       As the daytime is stirring
                       Where the speechless unite
                       In a silent accord
                       Using words you will find are strange
                       And mesmerised as they light the flame
                       Feel the new wind of change
                       On the wings of the night
                       No more turning away
                       From the weak and the weary
                       No more turning away
                       From the coldness inside
                       Just a world that we all must share
                       It's not enough just to stand and stare
                       Is it only a dream that there'll be
                       No more turning away?
                       Yet Another Movie
                       One sound, one single sound
                       One kiss, one single kiss
                       A face outside the window pane
                       However did it come to this?
                       A man who ran, a child who cried
                       A girl who heard, a voice that lied
                       The sun that burned a fiery red
                       The vision of an empty bed
                       The use of force, he was so tough
                       She'll soon submit, she's had enough
                       The march of fate, the broken will
                       Someone is lying very still
                       He has laughed and he has cried
                       He has fought and he has died
                       He's just the same as all the rest
                       He's not the worst, he's not the best
                       And still this ceaseless murmuring
                       The babbling that I brook
                       The seas of faces, eyes upraised
                       The empty screen, the vacant look
                       A man in black on a snow white horse,
                       A pointless life has run its course,
                       The red rimmed eyes, the tears still run
                       As he fades into the setting sun
 
 
 

                       Round and Round (Inst)
 
 
 

                       A New Machine - Part I
                       I have always been here
                       I have always looked out from behind the eyes
                       It feels like more than a lifetime
                       Feels like more than a lifetime
                       Sometimes I get tired of the waiting
                       Sometimes I get tired of being in here
                       Is this the way it has always been?
                       Could it ever have been different?
                       Do you ever get tired of the waiting?
                       Do you ever get tired of being in there?
                       Don't worry, nobody lives forever,
                       Nobody lives forever
 
 
 

                       Terminal Frost (Inst)
 
 
 

                       A New Machine - Part II
                       I will always be in here
                       I will always look out from behind these eyes
                       It's only a lifetime
                       It's only a lifetime
                       It's only a lifetime
 
 
 

                       Sorrow
                       The sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land
                       Plumes of smoke rise and merge into the leaden sky:
                       A man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers,
                       But awakes to a morning with no reason for waking
                       He's haunted by the memory of a lost paradise
                       In his youth or a dream, he can't be precise
                       He's chained forever to a world that's departed
                       It's not enough, it's not enough
                       His blood has frozen & curdled with fright
                       His knees have trembled & given way in the night
                       His hand has weakened at the moment of truth
                       His step has faltered
                       One world, one soul
                       Time pass, the river rolls
                       And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication
                       And silent replies that swirl invitation
                       Flow dark and troubled to an oily sea
                       A grim intimation of what is to be
                       There's an unceasing wind that blows through this night
                       And there's dust in my eyes, that blinds my sight
                       And silence that speaks so much louder that words,
                       Of promises broken