1. |
The Lamp
01:55
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Chapter 97: The Lamp
I'm bathed in the light,
I shine in the purity --
A tailor of right,
Equal luminosity.
And the vessels of light are the common vials
Of the everyday man
Emptied of their recipe,
Retooled to help us see.
I live at the roots,
The primal dichotomy --
A fork in the road,
A choice in its infancy.
And I'm filling our lamps with the murdered beasts.
Only nature can lead
From the fool's eternity,
Untainted by human beings.
Sleep in the light as if I'm only
Closing my eyes for a while.
I'm bathed in the light,
I shine in the purity --
A tailor of right,
Equal luminosity.
And the vessels of light are the common vials
Of the everyday man
Emptied of their recipe,
Retooled to help us see.
And the vessels of light are the common vials,
And the vessels of light are the common vials,
And the vessels of light are the common vials
Of the everyday man,
To help us see.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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2. |
Cetology
01:53
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Chapter 32: Cetology
You decide,
And science will accommodate!
You decide,
And science will allow
For your base impressions
To rule their calculated epiphanies --
Spread it on the breeze,
And deep into the seas.
We're the same inside,
But you can't oppress a man,
So they must
Be of beast --
Well they live like beasts.
You decide!
For your base impressions
To rule their calculated epiphanies --
Spread it on the breeze,
And deep into the seas.
Let the science ride;
Be as simple as you can!
Darker skin: different race,
Harder work, submissive face.
Speak eugenically!
You decide,
And science will accommodate!
You decide,
And science will allow
For your base impressions
To rule their calculated epiphanies.
Spread it on the breeze,
And deep into the seas.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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3. |
The Cassock
02:09
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Chapter 95: The Cassock
Drag me up from the depths
Of your wandering soul,
Let me light your fire,
Baby, you know!
Chain me up to the side
Of a perishing race
Of resistance,
Baby, you know!
It's a long time coming now!
It's a long time coming now!
Take the blackest flesh
As a garment to wear
For the portioning
Of spiritual wealth.
Slice it thin, father,
Thin as a Bible leaf
'Til it breaks you,
Baby, you know!
It's a long time coming now!
It's a long time coming now!
Isn't God defined
As a total control,
So if you fought and won
His power for all
It would still be a choice
That your God had made
And you'd still be
A subject enslaved?
It's a long time coming now!
It's a long time coming now!
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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4. |
The Ramadan
02:25
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Chapter 17: The Ramadan
No suicides here,
And no smoking in the parlor, dear.
He's locked himself inside --
I'm shut out 'til the rising tide.
The keyhole affords
No better view than half the floor --
He's nowhere to be seen
Beyond his weapon in the corner leaning.
Queequeg prays (sit alone in the cold for your Ramadan
With Yojo on your head) to the God who gives him voice;
It's the choice of every man.
Queequeg prays (sit alone in the cold for your Ramadan
With Yojo on your head); oh, who am I to say
That my Christian faith's the only way.
I burst into the room --
Shuttered like a bud to bloom,
My best friend remains
In the piety of pagan names.
I tell him when he wakes,
Religion needn't cause him pain.
He smiles back at me,
In friendship, never condescension.
Queequeg prays (sit alone in the cold for your Ramadan
With Yojo on your head) to the God who gives him voice;
It's the choice of every man.
Queequeg prays (sit alone in the cold for your Ramadan
With Yojo on your head); oh, who am I to say
That my Christian faith's the only way.
Queequeg prays.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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5. |
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Chapter 75: The Right Whale's Head -- Contrasted View
We're all in the whale's mouth,
Swallowed whole by a sullen pout --
The king of the ocean,
With Stoic emotion.
Hey! Look at all the oil we got!
Hey, hey , hey! The tongue and lip and blanket's off!
And ladies, hey ladies!, here's a little savagery for you --
Not a little savagery.
Step in this mouth,
It's twelve feet tall. (Oh, no, no, twelve feet tall!)
Pipe organ bones,
So worshipful. (Oh, oh, oh worshipful.)
It's the teepee of an Indian;
I swear I'll never sin again!
Hey! Look at all the oil we got!
Hey, hey, hey! Order in the sea's chaos!
And ladies, hey ladies!, here's a little savagery for you --
Oppressive little savagery!
And ladies, hey ladies!, here's a little savagery for you --
Not a little savagery.
It's the teepee of an Indian;
I swear I'll never sin again!
Hey! Look at all the oil we got!
Hey, hey, hey! Order in the sea's chaos!
And ladies, hey ladies!, here's a little savagery for you --
Oppressive little savagery!
And ladies, hey ladies!, here's a little savagery for you --
Not a little savagery.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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6. |
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Chapter 57: Of Whales in Paint; in Teeth; in Wood; in Sheet-Iron; in Stone; in Mountains; in Stars
Crush uncrushable seas beneath a tempest's tail.
Spur impetuously into the primal.
Right or wrong, the trained of form will miss you.
God alone can carve you
Into the mountainous,
Celestial countenance,
Into the stones and bones
And token homes of sailors' souls.
Fight the kraken where the bastion overflows,
And no striation could subsume the war machine.
Weak or strong, a man could never tame you.
May God impress your savage form
Into the mountainous,
Celestial countenance,
Into the stones and bones
And token homes of sailors' souls.
Weak or strong, a man could never tame you.
May God impress your savage form
Into the mountainous,
Celestial countenance,
Into the stones and bones
And token homes of sailors' souls.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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7. |
Breakfast
01:36
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Chapter 5: Breakfast
You've travelled the world and the eastern seas,
You've travelled the world.
You're made of the great human melodies
From all over the world.
And you'd think it's a matter of deepest sympathy
To be out in the world,
But then you run, run,
From the great menagerie --
You haven't a word!
You've sailed in time to the harshest breeze,
All over the world.
You've never been graced with a luxury,
And never preferred.
But then you run, run,
From the great menagerie --
You haven't a word!
And you'd think it's a matter of deepest sympathy
To be out in the world,
But you're turning
Inward, baby, take your time --
You're out in the world!
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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8. |
The Quarter-Deck
02:02
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Chapter 36: The Quarter-Deck
All visible things
Are but a sculpted mask
Held before the visage
Of some unspeakable truth,
Nothing known but for our suffering.
I'll strike at the mask,
Never mind it agent
Or principal.
And I'd fight the sun
If it aimed at any pride
In all my Earthly bounty;
Scattering, every ember shared
For eternity.
The knots in my mind
Tighten 'round a critical
Density,
And furrow into my brow
With an irresistible gravity.
Now pass the cup
And we'll ration out
The victory.
And I'd fight the sun
If it aimed at any pride
In all my Earthly bounty;
Scattering, every ember shared
For eternity.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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9. |
The Candles
02:20
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Chapter 119: The Candles
Lay out your vestments
On the altar, and pour libations (Hear us sing our spirits high!).
Burn us in perdition
As an offering for your salvation (Sha na na na na na na na!).
Standing on the back of
The devil himself.
I'll shout you off the mountain,
No matter the feat.
You made me from the fire
And I'll bring it to you!
So you're the light that sprung from
An utter darkness (you'll never know what made you be).
Well I'm the darkness sprung from
Your utter lightness (She na na na na na na na!).
You're everywhere at once.
You're never with me.
Strength is in the human
Personality.
We made into a person
An impersonal being.
Here's to the oath, mighty ruin!
We've taken an oath, never truant!
The hour is nigh, come alive!
Come alive!
Lay out your vestments
On the altar, and pour libations (Hear us sing our spirits high!).
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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10. |
The Grand Armada
02:11
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Chapter 87: The Grand Armada
The center of the tempest,
A situated bastion, a nursery.
It's an internal escape
From the great colonial rape,
Cunning and relentless.
A league of opposition,
The grand armada, frightened and meek,
As a herd of buffalo,
From a horseman charged alone,
Scatters into ashes.
So piracy --
We're rising up
Between the spaces
Of formality,
And, lo,
We're coming to
Our own conclusions . . .
Death before hegemony!
The murder of cohesion,
Confusion in the waters, a panicking.
Resist the very sun,
That never needs to rest --
They'll get you while you're breathing.
Resist the very sun,
That never needs to rest --
They'll get you while you're breathing.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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11. |
The Forge
02:04
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Chapter 113: The Forge
Pierce my heart!
Lift the lonely curse of mystery.
Hold me fast,
And forgive the choice we never had.
I've heard the hollow ring of ivory on the deck;
I've felt the final sting of needles and pins.
Smooth your brow!
Beat the creases into destiny.
Forge your steel,
Temper all intent in liberty.
I've heard the hollow ring of ivory on the deck;
I've felt the final sting of needles and pins.
Tell me, blacksmith,
Do you live in the devil's heat
Without a singe?
Do you sharpen the killer's beak
Without a singe?
Pierce my heart!
But I'll break the bond between us.
Fighters fight --
Oh it's nothing, only the natural order.
I've heard the hollow ring of ivory on the deck;
I've felt the final sting of needles and pins.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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12. |
The Whale Watch
02:03
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Chapter 117: The Whale Watch
Haven't you read Macbeth, old man?
Though the prophecy promised you'll never die,
It's gonna be bad.
'Til Burnham Wood comes to Dunsinane,
And nothing but hemp can kill you --
Ahab, you're fucking insane.
You hear what you want
Whenever you want it.
You do what you should
Whenever you choose.
Everybody heard Fedallah say:
You're gonna die, you're gonna die.
And Fedallah knows what he's telling you:
You're gonna die, you're gonna die.
Neither coffin nor hearse can be thine --
It's a civilized comfort to be buried inside
That your nature denied.
We can't even call it irony --
He told you that you'll die when the Pequod sinks,
And he said it plainly.
You hear what you want
Whenever you want it.
You do what you should
Whenever you choose.
Everybody heard Fedallah say:
You're gonna die, you're gonna die.
And Fedallah knows what he's telling you:
You're gonna die, you're gonna die.
Haven't you read Macbeth, old man?
Though the prophecy promised you'll never die,
It's gonna be bad.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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13. |
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Chapter 29: Enter Ahab; to him, Stubb
Summer nights
I've been sailing on the oceans of memory,
A vision I've been saving of you.
Following you
In a passion, my actions are a remedy
For the truth.
Summer nights
I've been pacing, cracked upon your every dream;
Sleep feels like I'll slumber indefinitely.
Up from my tomb
In a restless, ponderous oppressiveness
Over you.
The days are overflowing with peacefulness,
The warmth of but a passing goodbye.
I stand upon the only
Leg you left to hold me
Upright in the great ecstasy!
Summer nights
All I want is another dance for you and me,
A chance to make you forever mine.
Longing for you
Is a purpose, an absolute subversiveness
Of the rules.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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14. |
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Chapter 56: Of the Less Erroneous Pictures of Whales, and the True Pictures of Whaling Scenes
Poetry in motion!
Poetry in motion!
So chop away
At their flanks, come on!
Poetry in motion!
Poetry in motion!
The war identity
Captured in every painting,
Good and true.
You'll never have a picture
Without the reckoning force,
The justice of the scriptures,
Of nature's course!
Humans live in the action!
Humans live in the action!
Construct a narrative
Through adversaries, oh!
Humans live in the action!
Humans live in the action!
Emotions conquering
Our studied observations
For the truth.
You'll never have a picture
Without the reckoning force,
The justice of the scriptures,
Of nature's course!
Poetry in motion!
Poetry in motion!
So chop away
At their flanks, come on!
Poetry in motion!
Poetry in motion!
The war identity
Captured in every painting,
Good and true.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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15. |
The Castaway
02:05
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Chapter 93: The Castaway
As my body's buoyed
So my soul does sink --
Beheld the primal device!
In the open ocean,
I'm the center stage --
Like the sun, castaway.
And I never knew
What a concentrated
Mass of self rests in me always.
Do I seem a little crazy?
Heaven never speaks with reason,
And I could never surmise
How to speak with reason.
I'm frail in body,
But I've held the weight
Of God on my undisguised soul!
And I'm here before you
As a Titan stands --
Terrorize all rationality.
Do I seem a little crazy?
Heaven never speaks with reason,
And I could never surmise
How to speak with reason.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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16. |
The Hat
01:42
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Chapter 130: The Hat
Intents and purposes are clear --
Hoist you up into the stratosphere.
A sycophantic sort of sight --
The greater vantage offered less, perspective-wise.
You cast a shadow on the deck,
It's staring out into the infinite,
And though you're perched above a mirror,
You'll never see your own reflection any clearer.
Depended on your opposition
To leverage you into a god's position,
And then protect you in your nest,
A cunning ruler to enfranchise your enemies.
A bird of omen!
A bird of omen!
A bird of the seas!
A bird of omen!
A bird of omen!
Took the curtains off the windows of the castle of your soul,
The obsfucation of the dark below,
And flew into the current of time,
And dropped your crown
Into the fertile ground
Anew!
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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17. |
Dusk
01:36
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Chapter 38: Dusk
Starbuck:
He's a democrat to all above,
Taking power for everyone,
But in the end he's a tyrant to his brothers,
Hand in hand.
He hypnotized my reasoning,
Stripped me as a human being,
As if I was taken by a demon,
Faltering.
Chorus:
We are the crew of Captain Ahab!
We're going to rule the sea!
We are the crew of Captain Ahab,
We are free!
Starbuck:
We're going to
Hell! See the revelry!
Hell! Dragging us to sea!
Hell! And the darkness left of life.
His torment strangely did compel
An oath be taken to rebel.
Throw off your chains for yet another
Kind of yoke!
Chorus:
We are the crew of Captain Ahab!
Nursed among the sharks!
We are the crew of Captain Ahab,
Men apart!
Starbuck and [Chorus]:
We're going to
Hell! [We are the crew! We are the crew!]
Hell! [We are the crew! We are the crew!]
Hell! [We are the crew! We are the crew!]
[We are free!]
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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18. |
Going Aboard
02:38
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Chapter 21: Going Aboard
The tongues of an ebbing tide
Lapping against the boat,
And the light of the coming dawn glowing far and wide.
The silence that stills a heart,
And the fog that begins to lift
With the shadows that stow away under the boards.
We're the undertakers of the coming tragedy!
Turning our backs, the prophet makes us family.
We're the undertakers of the coming tragedy!
Fatten us up for footstools, come the coming feat.
Warnings upon the breeze,
As it teases against the sails
As a portent of future speed bracing the yard.
Nowhere a soul to stir.
The cabin is locked up tight.
Smoking with sleeping rigors deep in the bow.
We're the undertakers of the coming tragedy!
Turning our backs, the prophet makes us family.
We're the undertakers of the coming tragedy!
Fatten us up for footstools, come the coming feat.
© and ℗ 2009 Patrick Shea
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Patrick Shea Brooklyn, New York
Patrick is a nerd, a book lover, a math afficianado, an Ishmael, and an Ahab. He lives in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters. He grew up in Portland, OR; and has also lived in Grinnell, IA (for college); and Austin, TX.
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