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| Metropolis George Grosz 1918 |
A FEW HOURS AGO, I was sorting through a box of old papers when I came across these lyrics to a song I’d composed nearly fifty years ago, at the tender age of seventeen! I have decided to share it with the readers of Bowalley Road as proof that no matter what historical era one is born into, there is always, in the eyes of the young, considerable room for improvement.
Look For The Light.
Beneath the towering concrete thrones
The people creep and crawl,
You watch them through the oozing black
That’s seeping through your wall.
The darkness slithers like a snake
Between the halls of stone,
Your voice in echoes stabs the night:
“My God, am I alone!”
That’s when you look for the light,
Hope for the light,
Have faith in the light to come.
The stench of corpses chokes the air
And hangs the senses high,
While in their red-brick coffins
The split-level heroes lie.
You’re groping through an endless day
Towards an endless night,
While armies of well-oiled machines
March onward out of sight.
That’s when you look for the light,
Hope for the light,
Have faith in the light to come.
The bold blue warriors ignite
The fires they love to hate,
And crying “Law and Order!”,
Take another for the State.
The members of the Parliament
Are eating paper pies,
As sweat soaks through their collars,
They all doze as Justice dies.
That’s when you look for the light,
Hope for the light,
Have faith in the light to come.
You’re running faster every day
To catch the same old train,
With icy faces staring out
Of every window pane.
The streets are growing metal bars
To keep us in our place,
And every night the sirens wail,
Quickening the pace.
That’s when you look for the light,
Hope for the light,
Have faith in the light to come.
Chris Trotter 1973
The people creep and crawl,
You watch them through the oozing black
That’s seeping through your wall.
The darkness slithers like a snake
Between the halls of stone,
Your voice in echoes stabs the night:
“My God, am I alone!”
That’s when you look for the light,
Hope for the light,
Have faith in the light to come.
The stench of corpses chokes the air
And hangs the senses high,
While in their red-brick coffins
The split-level heroes lie.
You’re groping through an endless day
Towards an endless night,
While armies of well-oiled machines
March onward out of sight.
That’s when you look for the light,
Hope for the light,
Have faith in the light to come.
The bold blue warriors ignite
The fires they love to hate,
And crying “Law and Order!”,
Take another for the State.
The members of the Parliament
Are eating paper pies,
As sweat soaks through their collars,
They all doze as Justice dies.
That’s when you look for the light,
Hope for the light,
Have faith in the light to come.
You’re running faster every day
To catch the same old train,
With icy faces staring out
Of every window pane.
The streets are growing metal bars
To keep us in our place,
And every night the sirens wail,
Quickening the pace.
That’s when you look for the light,
Hope for the light,
Have faith in the light to come.
Chris Trotter 1973
This poem was originally posted on The Daily Blog of Friday, 1 July 2022.
4 comments:
17? Really?
Hallelujah Chris. I now ... HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT. Ta.
That from 1973! Cripes Chris, you must need regular tranquilisers now. Music can help.
I suggest listening to a whole opera, by halfway through you will be energised to get up and dash off to do something, anything. (I love opera in small doses, so the other suggestion is to get a compilation CD and those great musicians do lift the spirits just enough to recharge the batteries. (Try Trademe Classical Collection cd Used Lowest price).
Thanks for sharing that Chris. Can you give us the music to it?
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