1. Cygnus X-1 Book Two: Hemispheres (18:05)
2. Circumstances (3:41)
3. The Trees (4:46)
4. La Villa Strangiato An Exercise in Self-Indulgence (9:35)
Cygnus X-1 Book Two: Hemispheres
Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson / Lyrics: Neil Peart
I. Prelude
When our weary world was young
The struggle of the ancients first began
The gods of Love and Reason
Sought alone to rule the fate of Man
They battled through the ages
But still neither force would yield
The people were divided,
Every soul a battlefield...
II. Apollo Bringer of Wisdom
'I bring truth and understanding,
I bring wit and wisdom fair,
Precious gifts beyond compare.
We can build a world of wonder,
I can make you all aware'
'I will find you food and shelter,
Show you fire to keep you warm
Through the endless winter storm.
You can live in grace and comfort
In the world that you transform'
The people were delighted
Coming forth to claim their prize
They ran to build their cities
And converse among the wise
But one day the streets fell silent
Yet they knew not what was wrong
The urge to build these fine things
Seemed not to be so strong
The wise men were consulted
And the Bridge of Death was crossed
In quest of Dionysus
To find out what they had lost...
III. Dionysus Bringer of Love
'I bring love to give you solace
In the darkness of the night
In the Heart's eternal light
You need only trust your feelings
Only Love can steer you right'
'I bring laughter, I bring Music,
I bring joy and I bring Tears
I will soothe your primal fears
Throw off those chains of Reason
And your prison disappears'
The cities were abandoned
And the forests echoed song
They danced and lived as brothers
They knew Love could not be wrong
Food and wine they had aplenty
And they slept beneath the stars
The people were contented
And the Gods watched from afar
But the winter fell upon them
And it caught them unprepared
Bringing wolves and cold starvation
And the hearts of men despaired...
IV. Armageddon The Battle of Heart and Mind
The Universe divided
As the Heart and Mind collided
With the people left unguided
For so many troubled years
In a cloud of doubts and fears
Their world was torn asunder into hollow hemispheres
Some fought themselves, some fought each other
Most just followed one another
Lost and aimless like their brothers
For their hearts were so unclear
And the truth could not appear
Their spirits were divided into blinded hemispheres
Some who did not fight
Brought tales of old to light
My Rocinante sailed by night
On her final flight
To the heart of Cygnus' fearsome force
We set our course.
Spiralled through that timeless space
To this immortal place
V. Cygnus Bringer of Balance
I have memory and awareness
But I have no shape or form
As a disembodied spirit
I am dead and yet unborn
I have passed into Olympus
As was told in tales of old
To the City of Immortals
Marble white and purest gold
I see the Gods in battle rage on high
Thunderbolts across the sky
I cannot move, I cannot hide
I feel a silent scream begin inside
Then all at once the chaos ceased
A stillness fell, a sudden peace
The Warriors felt my silent cry
And stayed their struggle, mystified
Apollo was astonished
Dionysus thought me mad
But they heard my story further
And they wondered, and were sad
Looking down from Olympus
On a world of doubt and fear
Its surface splintered into
Sorry hemispheres.
They sat a while in silence
Then they turned at last to me
'We will call you Cygnus
The God of Balance you shall be'
VI. The Sphere A Kind of Dream
We can walk our road together
If our goals are all the same
We can run alone and free
If we pursue a different aim
Let the truth of Love be lighted
Let the love of truth shine clear
Sensibility
Armed with sense and liberty
With the Heart and Mind united
In a single perfect sphere
Circumstances
Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson / Lyrics: Neil Peart
A boy alone, and so far from home
Endless rooftops from my window
I felt the gloom of empty rooms
On rainy afternoons.
Sometimes in confusion
I felt so lost and disillusioned
Innocence gave me confidence
To go up against reality
All the same
We take our chances,
Laughed at by Time,
Tricked by circumstances
Plus ça change,
Plus c'est la même chose,
The more that things change
The more they stay the same
Now I've gained some understanding
Of the only world that we see
Things that I once dreamed of
Have become reality
These walls that still surround me
Still contain the same old me
Just one more who's searching for
The world that ought to be
The Trees
Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson / Lyrics: Neil Peart
There is unrest in the Forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the Maples want more sunlight
And the Oaks ignore their pleas.
The trouble with the Maples
(And they're quite convinced they're right)
They say the Oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the Oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made
And they wonder why the Maples
Can't be happy in their shade?
There is trouble in the Forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the Maples scream 'Oppression!'
And the Oaks, just shake their heads
So the Maples formed a Union
And demanded equal rights
'The Oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light'
Now there's no more Oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet,
Axe,
And saw...
La Villa Strangiato
(An Exercise in Self-Indulgence)
Music: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart
Instrumental
I. Buenas Noches, Mein Froinds!
II. To sleep, perchance to dream...
III. Strangiato Theme
IV. A Lerxst in Wonderland
V. Monsters!
VI. Danforth and Pape
VII. The Waltz of the Shreves
VIII. Never turn your back on a Monster!
IX. Monsters! (Reprise)
X. Strangiato Theme (Reprise)
XI. A Farewell to Things
