The Lyrical Album (Game)

[Tawmis]

The idea is using song titles of an album, writing lyrics, poems, whatever. But using all the song titles of a single album. Can be serious, funny, whacky, whatever. The song titles need not be in order when ye write it. Doesn't even have to make sense. It's just for fun and a means to release some creativity.


So there's a band called Black Swan who just released their new album Generation Mind.

Song track is:

Before the Light
She Hides Behind
Generation Mind
Eagles Fly
See You Cry
Killer on the Loose
Miracle
How Do You Feel
Long Way Down
Crown
Wicked the Day
I Will Follow.

================================

Before the Light of the sunrise
She hides behind the veil of lies she's created
Instagram images, for the Generation Mind
Who believe in the illusions just so she's not hated

She dreams of a place, where eagles fly
Where no one can ever see you cry

Because her self esteem is so easily destroyed
There's a killer on the loose
And it has her wrapped in its vile noose

It's a miracle she's made it so far
Hiding away the truth, when someone asks how do you feel
She never says what's real
Because it's a long way down, if she faces the truth

So she sits on her throne, with her crown of thorns
And Wicked is the day
But the fool is always there, looking at her, as she looks forlorn
And says, I will follow.

Because he believes the illusion she's created
To hide away the person she is, and has truly hated
Because she is afraid to peer beyond the veil
She's afraid to fall, she's afraid to fail

Because her self esteem is so easily destroyed
There's a killer on the loose
And it has her wrapped in its vile noose.

[Tawmis]

And the singer of Black Swan released his second (?) solo album last year (just came across it thanks to listening to Black Swan).
Artist - Robin McAuley
Album - Standing on the Edge
Tracks -
Thy Will Be Done
Standing On The Edge
Late December
Do You Remember
Say Goodbye
Chosen Few
Run Away
Supposed To Do Now
Wanna Take a Ride
Like A Ghost
Running Out of Time

=============

The king, on his throne called his most trusted knight
To come and knee before him
He said, "You must make things right."
"Thy will be done," the knight said, and followed the King's whim.

And so he rode on, looking for the woman who bore the king's child
Hiding out in the wild
And found her, standing on the edge
Ready to leap from the ledge

A late December snow blanketed the land in white innocense
And she cried, and said, "Do you remember when the king loved me?
Before he learned I carried his son? He didn't even say goodbye!
And now he's sent you, to see to it that I die."

It's true, he was one of the chosen few
Whom the king trusted, all the deep, dark secrets he knew.
"All I wanted to do was run away," she said
Holding her hands on head.

What was he supposed to do now? Could he help her? Give her a place to hide?
He extended his hand, and with emotion in his voice asked, "Wanna take a ride?"
And they rode off together, vanishing from the king's lands like a ghost
They were running out of time, so they sailed across the distant seas, moving to an island coast...

A late Summer breeze blew through her hair as her son smiled
And though not his own, this knight loved this child
And she asked, "Do you remember when you found me? I always wondered what you thought of..."
And he held her close and said, "Even before that night, it was always love..."

[Rath Darkblade]

Um. This is a challenge. Let me see -- how about Counting Crows, August and Everything After ...?

- "Round Here"
- "Omaha"
- "Mr. Jones"
- "Perfect Blue Buildings"
- "Anna Begins"
- "Time and Time Again"
- "Rain King"
- "Sullivan Street"
- "Ghost Train"
- "Raining in Baltimore"
- "A Murder of One"

So let's see ...

An explorer met a member of the Omaha tribe, who said:
"Round here, White man, you will find solace.
But if you push on west, you will meet the desert.
If you go north, you will find the Cheyenne.
Stay with us awhile; you will find peace."

But the explorer, whose name was Mr. Jones, replied:
"I thank you for your offer, friend, but it is unavailing.
I must go east, where my sweetheart Anna awaits.
In her letters, she writes to me so beautifully;
Time and time again, Anna begins her letters
with such tenderness, that her words wring all emotion from me -
for I weep so much to be far from her.
Point me to Maryland, and I will be gone."

"Maryland? By foot?" The Native replied.
"Why, even if you walk all day and all night,
It will take you fifteen-and-a-half days to reach Baltimore.
Stay; our rain ceremony will start soon,
which our resident Rain King will lead."

"Nay, friend," said Mr. Jones.
"For I must reach Baltimore soon, or not at all.
No doubt I'll see some Perfect Blue Buildings along the road,
or perhaps some little windswept shacks or hotels to put me up.
I know my Anna weeps for me, for it is Raining in Baltimore."

"Then there is nothing to say," said the Native.
"Fare you well, White man; take the old Sullivan Street east.
Perhaps you will meet a party of spirits along the road,
the old Ghost Train, but pay them no heed;
for they rose early one morning and killed a man,
and for their Murder of One
they are cursed to wander the Plains.
And perhaps you will make it to Baltimore yet;
so fare you well."

Thus the explorer left the Plains of Nebraska and wandered east.
Did he make it? No-one knows.

(P.S. I hope I haven't made any serious errors with my American geography here! *blush* I did try to do some research on the Native tribes of Nebraska in the limited time that I had left before having to go to work -- whoops, too late. Gotta run!)

[Tawmis]

Naw! I liked it. Like I said, it can be silly, serious, not have to rhyme, mostly just an interesting way to do some creative out pour.

A lot of times, for example, song lyrics don't rhyme (and sometimes don't even make sense!)
And they often don't follow any traditional "poetic rules" - because the music determines the structure, which is why I was saying it doesn't have to follow any "poetic beats."

[Rath Darkblade]

Thanks! I took a chunk of inspiration from Poe's poem, "El Dorado", but that little poem is different.

Let's try another one ... Pearl Jam, Ten. This is inspired by the traditional song, "Shenandoah" - here is an utterly gorgeous interpretation of it (by the University of North Texas College A Capella Choir).

Tracks:

- "Once"
- "Even Flow"
- "Alive"
- "Why Go"
- "Black"
- "Jeremy"
- "Oceans"
- "Porch"
- "Garden"
- "Deep"
- "Release"

Once upon a time,
I walked by the Shenandoah river
whose Even Flow
and fragrant odours
reinvigorated me
and reminded me I was Alive.

"Why Go home?" The river seemed to say.
"Sit by my banks,
gaze upon my waters,
breathe in the fresh air,
taste from my fish --
all you need for a good life
is here."

By the late afternoon
the waters had turned Black,
and a fishing boat floated by
marked simply "Jeremy's."

The river, I reminded myself, flows out to the Potomac,
but does not reach the world's Oceans.
Why this has to be
is an accident of nature
and not for me to know.

The late-afternoon sun
kissed the waters of the Shenandoah
and began to disappear,
painting the horizon
with yellows, magentas and deep purples.
It was time for me to go.

In time, I'd reached my front Porch
and turned around to look at my Garden,
with its faded greens and browns
of early fall,
the loblolly pines and yellow poplars
filling the air with their scents.
With a Deep breath,
I took them into myself,
and became one with my trees;
Then, a Release later,
my spirit mingled with theirs
for those few seconds.

Turning back to my cottage,
I shut the door
and fed my potbelly stove
to begin making dinner.

"Well," I said to the world at large,
"I'm home."

(Hope you like it! I did some research on the Shenandoah river and some parts of Virginia, then tried to 'draw' a picture of serenity and peace).

[Tawmis]

I like it. Remember, ye can just free flow it too. Doesn't need to match a song. Idea is just to be creative with the one restriction of using all the song titles from an album.

So don't make your brain explode trying to make sure it's accurate, and fits a song.

I am gonna try one for TORA TORA's "Surprise Attack" album -

Tracks:
Love's A Bitch
28 Days
Hard Times
Guilty
Phantom Rider
Walkin' Shoes
Riverside Drive
She's Good She's Bad
One For The Road
Being There

I've always known Love's A Bitch
And it's been 28 days since she's left me in a bind
Dealing with these hard times
Feeling guilty, drinking myself blind.

And so I go out into my car, and turn the key
The wind hitting me, like a phantom rider of some western story
Trying to forget the night she put on her walkin' shoes and left me
Headin' down Riverside Drive.

I can't help think, she's good, she's bad
I loved her, I hated her
But she was all I had

And so, I take one for the road
And I'm gone again, down the winding way of feeling lost
Looking for a way to unload
At any cost.

Because when I'm home
Sometimes just being there
I can still smell her perfume and remember her embrace
And see the look of love on her face

I can't help think, she's good, she's bad
I loved her, I hated her
But she was all I had

[Rath Darkblade]

Let's try ... Polka Party! Yes, this will be very silly.

1. "Living with a Hernia"
2. "Dog Eat Dog"
3. "Addicted to Spuds"
4. "One of Those Days"
5. "Polka Party!"
6. "Here's Johnny"
7. "Don't Wear Those Shoes"
8. "Toothless People"
9. "Good Enough for Now"
10. "Christmas at Ground Zero"
===========================

One day, Ed McMahon woke up;
he said "On brie and wine I'd sup."
'Twas cold - not hypothermia,
or Living with a Hernia.

His attitude was Dog Eat Dog --
He cheated son out of Alf pog,
and snickered "Sucker!", ran away,
along with brand-new pog to play.

But then he was quiet, was Eddie McMahon,
for he ate a cooked chicken that wasn't quite done;
So he washed up his insides with scourer and suds,
for his dinner 'twas chips - he's Addicted to Spuds.

"See, One of Those Days I'll get even with Carson,"
thought Eddie McMahon and resisted a cussin'.
"I am just as erudite, wicked and smarty,
so why am I going to Al's Polka Party!?

I am well-dressed, well-read and bonny;
Why do I always say 'Here's Johnny'?
If Johnny's boots are stained with booze,
I'll tell him 'John - Don't Wear Those Shoes.'"

These thoughts through Eddie's mind did ripple,
but on "Tonight Show"? Toothless People.
While Johnny Carson did guffaw,
Ed thought "Well ... Good Enough for Now.

I earn my weekly pay, at least;
The NBC we both have fleeced!"
Then, far above, a Russian plane
did drop the bomb; and then again.

The pilot thought "Oh goody, goody!
That Carson won't suspect it, would he?"
But Ed McMahon, with both fists clenched
hit bombs right back! The plane got drenched

with weapons-grade enriched uranium;
it wasn't good for pilot's cranium.
So Ed McMahon became a hero;
it was no Christmas at Ground Zero"!

(Huzzah! I didn't think I'd get there, but I did...)

[Tawmis]

This was actually great!

[Rath Darkblade]

How the heck did I get any poem out of a Weird Al album?

Your turn.

[Tawmis]

Your turn.

Man, don't even worry about turns. If you feel inspired - crack one out. You can do 10 in a row, and I am not gonna mind.

For me, it's just a way to challenge my brain to do something creative (and fun) and feel no stress of deadlines.

[Tawmis]

From Savatage's "SIRENS" album.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirens_(Savatage_album)

1. "Sirens"
2. "Holocaust"
3. "I Believe"
4. "Rage"
5. "On the Run"
6. "Twisted Little Sister"
7. "Living for the Night"
8. "Scream Murder"
9. "Out on the Streets"

=============================================

I saw her from across the bar, as she sang on the karaoke bar
She was worn and tattered, with the dreams of being a star.
Despite her appearance, she sang like a siren
Her voice was enchanting, and pulling me in.

That night, I found love in her arms
When she asked me to keep her safe from harm.
But it came at a bitter cost
As dreams were twisted into a holocaust.

I believe, she was truly a siren born
Because I found myself strapped to the bed, flesh bit and torn.
Tied down like a lab rat, or a prompt on a stage
And deep down inside her eyes, I could see a burning rage

She said, all of her life she's been on the run
Cursed to hold many, but love no one.
So when she looked at me, and whispered, "I am so sorry, mister,"
I knew I was in trouble with this twisted little sister.

She said, "All my life, I've been living for the night,
Looking for someone to hold me and fill me with delight."
She dug her claws into me, and made me scream murder
But that just managed to please her.

My heart ripped from my chest, as I lay dying
With her next to me, just crying.
She stood up on her feet
And once again, headed out on the streets...

[Tawmis]

From Savatage's "Dungeons Are Calling"

Tracks -
1. "The Dungeons Are Calling"
2. "By the Grace of the Witch"
3. "Visions"
4. "Midas Knight"
5. "City Beneath the Surface"
6. "The Whip"

Lost in the ever twisted and turning
Cursed by the yearning
Being an adventurer, there was no stalling
When the dungeons are calling!

He's coming for Vecna, the evil Lich
Granted eternal life, by the grace of the witch
I've had visions of a Midas Knight
Locked in eternal combat, I watched his endless plight

Some where, in that city beneath the surface
Somewhere so far below all of this
He sleeps in his crpyt
Awakened by the crack of the whip.

[Tawmis]

Power of the Night album, by Savatage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_of_the_Night

1. "Power of the Night"
2. "Unusual"
3. "Warriors"
4. "Necrophilia"
5. "Washed Out"
6. "Hard for Love"
7. "Fountain of Youth"
8. "Skull Session"
9. "Stuck on You"
10. "In the Dream"

I wait for the sun to set on the horizon
For my life to begin
Driven by the power of the night
Descending from the heights

What I am is unusual
Some might even say brutal
But I am amassing an army of warriors
To take over the future

To love me, is to love necrophilia
Come close to me, I want to feel ya.
I prize beauty, that's what I am about
Not looking for a junkie on the street, who is washed out

It's hard for love to bind me
Because I live for all eternity
I have drank from the fountain of truth
To preserve my youth

The games I play, before I attack
Are like a skull session, before it goes black
You'll say, "I'm stuck on you"
And that will be true

No one will hear you scream
In the dream
You will be my bride
The moment you welcome me inside...

EDIT: The Skull Session feels forced, but that's because the song... the lyrics are hyper sexualized as to what that means... but I love doing these, because I never have an idea where I am going until it starts flowing... and this, if it's not clear is about a vampire...

[Rath Darkblade]

I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about Savatage. I also haven't written any poems or songs for a long time. But that's changed now!

It's winter here in Aussie-land, and I got the idea for this after doing my laundry this morning. I looked up the forecast, which said "Windy but dry until 4 pm, and then rain". So I thought "Great! I'll wash everything and hang it up, then collect it before lunchtime."

Of course, as soon as I started driving to the grocery shop, the rain started. I did my shopping, got home, put it away, took down the laundry, took the basket to the laundromat ... and as soon as I started driving, the sun came out. Sigh. I can't win. =P

But rather than get downhearted about it, I decided to write a song.

REALLY Obvious Disclaimer: "The Simpsons" is copyright to FOX (Duh). I'm only writing this for fun (and the challenge to see how many words I can rhyme with "laundry"). So please don't sue.

"The Laundry Song"
(parody of "Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?" from "The Simpsons")

(It's a very cold, but clear, winter morning. Rath steps outside to hang up laundry).

Rath:
Whether promise, pledge or cussin'
or a-vowing of some oaths,
there's no reason for discussin'
Where I'd rather hang my clothes.

(song starts)

When you hang it up, laundry's oh-so-moist,
But pretty soon you'll looooooooove
Hills Hoist.

Clothes a-spinnin' in the wind;
You will never be chagrined!
Fresh clean smell when it is done
drying out beneath the sun.
Ironing's a boring duty,
But your shirt will be a beauty!

(Rath casts a spell; shirts iron themselves. The Simpsons join the song.)

Rath:
Who needs the Laundry-mat?
Not Alessandri-mat!
Oh, won't you rhyme with me?

Who needs the Laundry-mat?

Marge:
There is no quandary-mat!

Lisa:
No hypochondry-mat!

Bart:
Or even gauntry-mat!

Homer:
The Laundromat exists—
D'oh!

All:
Who needs the Laundromat?

Rath:
Not meeeeeeeeeee!

The Simpsons: (simultaneously)
Forget the Laundromat!
Good-bye to Laundromat!
Who needs the Laundromat?

Rath:
Not me!

(20 seconds later; the sky darkens, a storm starts and rains on Rath's laundry)

Rath: (sadly)
Who needs the Laundromat?
I doooooo...

[Tawmis]

I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about Savatage. I also haven't written any poems or songs for a long time. But that's changed now!
REALLY Obvious Disclaimer: "The Simpsons" is copyright to FOX (Duh). I'm only writing this for fun (and the challenge to see how many words I can rhyme with "laundry"). So please don't sue.

Ye need not know anything about Savatage, really. (They're my favorite band, but no one really knows about'em tragically. They're no longer together).
I was just in a mood of listening to Savatage, so I was using the albums to do the thingies.
The poems/lyrics/whatever you wanna call I am writing/wrote - don't have anything specific to Savatage (ye need not know about them) for whatever I write.

And I don't think ye need to disclaimer anything.

I don't think anyone is gonna come here - especially since it's only lyrics, and not actual music.
And by law, parody is allowed (by fair use)

In the United States, parody is protected by the First Amendment as a form of expression. However, since parodies rely heavily on the original work, parodists rely on the fair use exception to combat claims of copyright infringement.

Not sure what it is in Aussieland, but I assume similar?

And as one who doesn't watch the Simpsons (I think I stopped way back in Season 2? It was still early... 90s? When I stopped - I do remember sporting a BARTMAN shirt...)

But still managed to enjoy what ye did - and although I knew what a hills hoist was, I never knew what it was called. I always thought it was just a "laundry pole"