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Eternal Return

by The Higher Ups

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1.
Easily Read 02:56
The Lieutenant's new favorite doctor was called. Seems his poor mind was made for doing nothing at all. Sitting alone in a place in the sun, Waiting all day For the night to come. 
 From the sky, all the figures from centuries gone Were showing their face upon every stone. There could be no pain in that infinite place, Out with that monkey they shot off into space. 
 All the beggars stood around in their ragged display. And the masters watched on, they had nothing to say. 
 Sitting alone in a place in the sun, And waiting all day For the night to come. 
 A frequency manifest, a hidden sphere is revealed. They talk in riddles at night, where the truth is concealed.
2.
He found his poor heart broken by some comic voodoo curse The King of all the earth The doors swing off their hinges now, the clocks run in reverse The King of all the Earth (Whist taming a rainstorm he slipped and fell on three occasions and each time did again arise) 
 He lay down his bloody blade and he asked her for her hand The Queen of all the Land The Queen of all these Lands She hesitated briefly then she crept back down the stairs The Queen of all the Air The Queen of all the Air (The hallway that he wanders in the darkness is a poor excuse for de-signifying his most dear significants) 
 When he says what he means, Does it really mean anything? When he takes what he needs, Does he have to take everything? 
 His head was in the firmament his face was in the dirt The King of all the Earth Will he ever understand just what this life is worth? The King of all the Earth (The postulate that every star is a man is too terrible to be true and too great a scam to be called a lie).
3.
The Hanging Man Was everybody's favorite He could freely stand Upon his hands with his feet above him. See his wingspan - How we all loved him; Everybody loved the hanging man. 
 The Hanging Man His appetites a strange attractor Making Plans With a picture perfect method actress. You could see them walking hand in hand Beneath the stars along the lane Looking happier than anyone can; Everybody loved the hanging man. 
 The Hanging Man, Our perfect action hero See the quicksand, Above his head the ones and zeros. If there was ever any god within The devil knows it's grown so thin. Still, everybody loves him; Everybody loves the hanging man.
4.
The one who set The torn and bloody sails To aim the captain's wrath Leaves upon the path. 
 The one who preached Of perfect white light, And loved the blackest math Leaves upon the path again. 
 The one who never knew The living from the dead The future from the past Leaves upon the path. 
 The Fall will bloom And blush, fiery red In summer's aftermath, Leaves upon the path. Leaves upon the path, again.
5.
Memphis 04:14
A vision sent me drifting to that delta back east In search of easy living and my place up at the feast There were stories of her comforts And the favor of her tides I was on my way to Memphis From a thousand miles outside. On my way to Memphis From so very far outside. 
 A thunderhead above me, and an ache in my chest Followed me for days, you know it gave me no rest. I moved along the best I knew, my destiny to keep But the heavens opened up and the water got too deep. Those heavy clouds rained down on me And the water got too deep. 
 Forty days and nights came and went without a sound There were no lights in the midnight sky, The moon and stars lay down on the ground. 
 Inspired by revelations, parables and signs From those whose words keep ringing even past their time of dying. I listened in for answers And sometimes I thought I heard, I was on my was to Memphis, but I couldn't get the word; On my way to Memphis, just looking for the word. 
 Man, I was out there on that highway like a killer or a thief With my head full of vengeance and my heart all full of grief. And when I finally made it through that ancient golden gate I laid down the burden of my heavy, heavy weight. I pledged my life eternal to that heavenly estate. But I found myself in Memphis just a little bit too late.
6.
7.
When I talked to you last night I could tell what was on your mind. You didn't have much to say That the crows hadn't carried away. 
 I see you're in love again With everything you might have been. You used to turn water to wine. Used to turn words into diamonds. 
 And it's a high, high road. Come on, it's time to go. The path is steep to climb Until you know that it's time, time, time. 
 Looking for secrets to keep, Your treasure is buried so deep. Your demons retreat from the light. Like dreams at the end of the night. 
 The captain is lost to the sea, No different than you are from me. His heart is born out 'cross the waves, His memory all he can save.

8.
It's getting late, and I wanna be with you downtown tonight So let's make our way outside. We'll pretend that we're different people From some better life. This city's full of expectation We're all looking out for a sign. And when the lights shine down From these high glass mountains We all feel more alive. 
 Sometimes it's hard to believe that we will ever want to leave Sometimes it's hard to believe there's any place left for us to go. 
 Our brothers and their brothers before them Drove nails right into the stone. They hung up every dream they had And they called this place their own. The hearts that they used for feeling Were as cracked and dry as their bones. It's gonna be a long time It's gonna be a long, long time Before their memory is finally gone.
 Sometimes it's hard to believe in all these wonders that I see. Sometimes it's hard to believe in all these miracles.
 Another hour among the ghosts All the lovers come and go, Above their heads they'll see us floating. Oh they'll see us floating away Into that deep, black night. 
 Maybe I've been one of the liars, Just learning to tell the truth. Maybe I've been one of the losers Exposed before my accusers, So lost to everyone I knew But I hope this time To become something new.
9.
I heard someone say, “It's better to burn out Than to fade slowly away” I remember the look on his face. 
 Coming Home from the war Insisting the world would be one (won), And our days better than before But no one believed anymore. 
 In his way, long ago He seemed so high up above us. The wandering stars above Would have been easier to touch. But he fell to the earth like a stone And everything he could hold Wouldn't lift him back up. 
 Not a hero – just a sham A costume that he could put on To cover the blood on his hands A phantom disguised as a man. 
 I heard someone say, “It's better to burn out It's better that we should burn out than just fade slowly away.” Atlas, despised and disgraced: I remember the look on his face.
10.
“Until you hear those mysteries,” they say “You won't know what to do. Familiar voices from so far away Come calling back to you.” 
 In quiet rooms of stone and borrowed light I've studied the geometry Of haunted words that hover out of sight Their angles sang to me. 
 They will carry me home. 
 The old conductor signaled to the crowd Symbols of future things Thought like birds soon gathered close around To take them on their wing. 
 They will carry us home.
11.
I've seen the dark side of the moon; Where locusts swarmed the frozen dunes. Their bodies hummed an ancient song, And we sang together all night long. 
 Oklahoma Rain, Oklahoma Rain. Falling on the Plane. Oklahoma Rain. 
 The blood of many sons was shed. The hardened earth stained crimson red. Their souls are waiting underground For the big, black sky to tumble down. 
 Now, some may say we've gone too far. We've flown too high and seen too much. The stars that fill the midnight sky Have leaned in close enough to touch. 
 Satellites are overhead, They’re staring down into my brain. It's full of rusted dreams and ghosts And a flood of Oklahoma rain. Oklahoma Rain, Oklahoma Rain. Falling on the Plane. Oklahoma Rain. Coming down Again. Oklahoma.

about

Here are 10 songs and an interlude for what may well be your listening pleasure! The last song was written first, the first song was finished last, and the middle piece links past and future.

credits

released December 31, 2018

This album was produced by me at home on a Tascam 388. It was mixed by Danny Piccuirro and me. The great Brad Bell mastered it. Glory Be!

I wrote, arranged, engineered (for better or worse), sang and played all the instruments. All art is original to the project, hand made with oils and collage and digitally comped by me.

Thanks to my mom, Lauren and my late dad for everything that matters! Thanks to Darrell Schultz for opening my eyes to art back in high school. Thanks to all the other teachers and muses over the years. Thanks to all the band mates who encouraged me by putting my songs onto set lists and eventually onto records. Thanks to all the great writers who've let me play with them, write with them and learn from them. Thanks to the excellent players who've helped me get a handle on things instrumentally. Thanks to everyone who is or ever has been a friend.

Thanks to you for listening and reading!!!

As it was written, so it has been done.

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The Higher Ups Austin, Texas

Gray Parsons is The Higher Ups. Born in Oklahoma. Lives in Austin, TX.

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