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The Strange Parade

by Beowulf Kingsley

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1.
The Strange Parade 03:58
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THE STRANGE PARADE Tell me whatcha gonna do, when you’re sitting in your room And the shadows talk to you with the voices you once knew? There are shades of ones you love, that bring comfort from above They can even save your soul, But some ghosts can eat you whole All the people on the road, they’ve got ghosts there of their own Riding shotgun in their cars, though you can’t see where they are I have phantoms in my head, some are living, some are dead Softly floating in the breeze In my sky of memories Watch out for the Strange Parade It happens every night Some specters just refuse to fade Until we get it right Watch out for the Strange Parade We all stand there spellbound When the ghosts that we’ve got all come to town There are spirits as I sing, watching while I do this thing A dark audience tonight, as I play by candlelight When I’m finished, will they cheer, will I know or will I hear And what happens if they do? Maybe I’ll start haunting you Watch out for the Strange Parade It happens every night Some specters just refuse to fade Until we get it right Watch out for the Strange Parade We all stand there spellbound When the ghosts that we’ve got all come to town
2.
The Boy In The Tower 04:48
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THE BOY IN THE TOWER High up above on the 31st floor Sitting cross-legged in the comfortable chair Out of the window he’s smiling alone Everyone knows that he’s bound to be there They think that he’s lost it, and they might be right He’s been staring out there for most of today His thoughts are adrift like a tetherless kite He might come back down but he’d much rather stay And the Boy In The Tower Is watching the light That changes its color with the oncoming night But out in his head all the birds are in flight The Boy In The Tower In his thoughts the stars are shining Far-off galaxies colliding Flying snakes are intertwining I walk up the stairs to the 31st floor There’s nobody there but the window and me 31 years, and a little bit more I sit in the chair, there’s still so much to see And the Boy In The Tower Is watching the light That changes its color with the oncoming night But out in his head all the birds are in flight The Boy In The Tower
3.
Anywhere But Here 04:07
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ANYWHERE BUT HERE You stop there where she hitchikes ‘cause she looks like such a waif She smiles at you a little when you tell her it’s not safe Won’t tell you where she comes from or just why she’s on the road And she only gives this answer when you ask her where she’s goin’ She says, “Anywhere, anywhere, anywhere but here” She’ll smoke up all your cigarettes but doesn’t talk that much And she might accept a light but she’ll avoid your slightest touch And as you pass the graveyard something happens in the dark And you suddenly discover you’re alone there in your car Much later in the evening, at the small roadside café They’ll tell you the whole story of the girl you met that way How she tried to hitchhike out of town but then got killed instead How she never got away and you remember what she said She said, “Anywhere, anywhere, anywhere but here”
4.
So Still 02:59
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SO STILL I lie Under the stones Just rags and bones Are left of me Birds call Over the hill I am so still Nobody sees Blue sky Sunlight shines down Over the ground Over the trees Wind blows Over the stones I am so still Nobody sees Down in the city there’s a poster of a girl But the picture’s turning yellow with the aging of the bill And in the suburbs there’s a woman at a window With a hole deep in her soul that she knows nothing’s gonna fill I lie Stolen from life Woman and wife Never to be Dreams gone Lost in the dawn I am so still Nobody sees
5.
God Guide My Ship 04:41
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GOD GUIDE MY SHIP Out in the night, out on the water Now here I am, old man and the sea It’s down to this, here in the silence God Guide My Ship To Where I Should Be Velvety black still of the ocean Chill enough now that I might freeze Gone now so long, since I departed God Guide My Ship To Where I Should Be Infinite darkness out in the atmosphere Here at the point where the wind meets the wave All my map says is that there be monsters here If I get lost will I ever be saved Under that surface is where I don’t want to be Colder than ice and as dark as the tomb Ghosts of you sailors and angels look out for me I only hope that my compass is true Trials by fire, then trials by water Dark night of the soul for St. John and me If I should die out on the water God Guide My Ship To Where I Should Be
6.
If Then Were Now 05:42
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IF THEN WERE NOW You can’t move forward when you’re looking back But my memory’s train is switched to this track Headed for a place I don’t like to go The all-night feature at the shadow show With a story line I can’t disallow I would change the plot if then were now It’s the same old tale, yeah you can bet Filled with disagreements and sad regrets When I think of the way that I treated you There’s so very much that I would undo Like the outcome of our famous fatal row I could be so different if then were now If then were now, would it be the same? Would we play our parts in the same sad game? If then were now, and if now were then Would I do the same dumb stuff over again? Yeah, I gotta stop ‘cause it does no good It’s over now and that’s understood I was born to love you and born to fall So think of me kindly if you do at all Just a jester making his final bow I’d play a different role if then were now
7.
Godspeed 04:51
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GODSPEED I’ll hold you for a while, though I know that you can’t stay It seems our time together has finally slipped away There’s people say it’s part of life, and living is an art But what’s the point in living if it just breaks our hearts I can feel your heart is beating, I can feel it beating slow I won’t get in your way now if you feel it’s time to go Someday I hope to meet your eyes out in some strange land Talk to me in a language we both can understand I say Godspeed, and see you safe back home I say Godspeed, and see you safe back home So glad I got to meet you on this road I say Godspeed, and see you safe back home We are both of us ascending on this ladder we must climb That begins down in our deepest hearts, And that ends up in the sky If you should make it to the top this time before I do Won’t you light me up a candle Just to signal that it’s you I can feel your heart is beating, I can feel it beating slow I won’t get in your way now if you feel it’s time to go Someday I hope to meet your eyes out in some strange land Talk to me in a language we both can understand I say Godspeed, and see you safe back home I say Godspeed, and see you safe back home So glad I got to meet you on this road I say Godspeed, and see you safe back home
8.
This Is The Way The World Begins 04:34
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THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD BEGINS This is the way the world begins A bird across an empty sky A springtime sun that starts to rise A breath of cloud blown by the wind This is the way the world begins This is the way the world begins A smile, a look, an waking dream The ice is melting in the stream A joke you make that sparks my grin This is the way the world begins Ahh, everything is new Ahh, everything with you This is the way the world begins With your soft kiss upon my face Alone here in this secret space To re-imagine all we've been This is the way the world begins
9.
Too Strange 04:32
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TOO STRANGE You never know till you get there And by then it’s way too late She told me once it was all about The stories we create Her poison kiss still on my lips With dreams I can’t undream I gotta get on out of here Before I start to scream A chance remark I chanced to make And the change was on her face She looked at me as one who sees Something from outer space And there’ve been times I felt like that Oh God, you know it’s true The thing that really shocked me was I thought she was one too I had money, I had time I thought that she knew the Secret Sign Her words whispering inside my mind Put out the stars tonight She said that I was too strange The carnival is all shut down In the darkened evening air And the lonely sideshow clown stands tall He’s pretending that he doesn’t care Yeah, high up here on the Ferris Wheel That’s where I’ll make my stand Everything that I had to hold is gone And I’m left with empty hands I had money, I had time I thought that she knew the Secret Sign Her words whispering inside my mind Put out the stars tonight She said that I was too strange

about

This album seemed to be insisting that I write it for a long time. The themes of ghosts, hauntings, dreams, loss, hope, and transcendence flew around inside my head and pestered me until I finished it. Maybe they'll let me be now. But I very much doubt it.

credits

released February 1, 2017

Todd Perkins: Songwriting, Vocals, Keyboards, Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Loop Programming.

Paul Vornhagen: Flute.

Photo: Jeff Westover

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Beowulf Kingsley Grass Lake Charter Township, Michigan

Todd was here before. Perhaps you recognize him from back then. He looked different then, though. If you think he owes you any money, he was probably some other guy. Those other guys are gone now. We think they may be in Guam, or possibly Kansas.

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