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1. |
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Tunnel Girl:
For anyone listening
the last wishers wishing
and squatters who've still got some gin
I’m recording today
from beneath the subway
if anyone out there’s tuning in
I’m doing my best
though my left eye’s a mess
it's swollen and i cant see a thing
Still, here’s your transmission
the heart bleed edition
live from the bonegrind machine
I havent slept near all weekend
the squat it was partying
and me and eddie of course we joined in
I’m still pretty high
though my bones sure are tired
yet im searching these tunnels again
Last night while we're raging
this one song was playin
and i felt like my sister was there
like the old days when we
made our way on the streets
back before she disappeared
.......
Eddie’s stressed and wound up
this big score we got coming
we got dreams we're gonna reach out and grab
and soon we’ll stop squatting
and we ‘ll buy us a bar with
the money we make selling skag
Our friends will all hang there
with eddie and me there
the good times they won’t end you'll see
and above it we'll have
this really posh flat
far from the bonegrind machine
....
So each week here i play
the weird west cabaret
i rebroadcast it for all who tune in
that one hour it plays
close my eyes, fade away
and live somewhere else for a bit
and think of my sister
and how much i miss her
and how i won’t rest til she’s found
so i scrounge neath the floors
in the tunnels and sewers
that lie like a maze underground
.......
Being down here's for the best
i mean eddie's real stressed
this scores got him really uptight
I know it aint right
but he sure let loose this time
i really can’t see out my eye
My whole cheek is swollen
it’s best that im gone for
a few days til his temper will ease
So here's your transmission
the sewer rat edition
live from the bonegrind machine
......
When my sister comes back then
everything’ll be right again
and eddie will love her in time
and when he gets mad
she’ll stand up like she did dad
and then we'll all get along fine
i remember the day
i heard her on the Cabaret
weeks after she disappeared
but this week it didn’t play
there was no cabaret
instead in its place
there was something real strange
this broadcast l i’ll play you right here
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2. |
Raven's Opening
06:44
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Raven’s Opening
Raven:
When your world’s been crushed
and your new world is fear
and your dreams brutalized
and shattered like mirrors
and you flee on the run
with a face full of tears
join us my love
join us right here
….
There’s a strange land that you might say
is so close yet far away
in which our dear carnival prowls
It's a long, lonely, dusty time
since some company's come by
and the time’s come to speak of it now
There’s cobwebs and dust
unholy things gone to rust
and our crew’s usually blind drunk by noon
but for you we'll make due
crank the old wheel anew
as our carnival comes back to town
…
For those of you far out there listening
to this little humble, odd transmission
who awaited a weird west cabaret
well don't reach for that dial yet
Miss Helen and her cast of friends
are joining our circus today
They're on the run, afraid
and need a place they can escape
and this i can help with, i might
but before you all go
tour our grounds, see our show
as our carnival comes back to life
Floozies:
Raven, baby, hey, whacha got to say?
Raven:
step right up step right up, what a show we have today
Floozies:
Raven, baby, hey, whacha got to say?
Raven:
All you little Albionites listening, dont you go away
It’s been so since we've have crowds to coquet, seduce and bait
our circus has been stuck for so long in this god forsaken place
that at night i finger razor blades
but Hamlet’s soliloquy can wait
this week peruse our carnival of debauchery and disarray
Floozies:
Raven, baby, hey, say whacha got to say
Raven:
the cast of your favorite cabaret is with us here today
Floozies:
Raven, baby, hey, say whacha gotta say
Raven:
Please welcome our desperate fugitives, and Miss Helen… enchantee
Kiss my grits and panties its so exciting here you know
they're on the run but first they'll tour our grounds and see our show
Sit back, relax, i swear there’s no reveals or big surprise
we all know whos coming, its just a question of when they arrive
Our carnival has been around
exotic lands and foreign towns
we've welcomed so many inside
Angels, demons both alike
every tarot card and every sign
have howled at the moon in our time
And here i’d thought our day done
the last act where i suck a gun
but now my love you have arrived
Every fetish is fine
you can have some of mine
as the carnival comes back to town
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3. |
The Carousel
06:14
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Raven:
The carousel goes round forever whirling
king becomes the beggar becomes the clown
and when the clown he weeps, the crowd all come then to their feet
and applaud him as he falls the long way down
long ago the sounds of crowds and madness
howled throughout the long and wild eve
what i wouldn't spend
to hear those sounds again
and oh then what a sweet sound that would be
oh then what a sweet sound that would be
we used to be a legend spoke with reverence
inebriates would worship at our feet
the place they'd long to see
to embrace all their extremes
oh then what a sweet sound that would be
i cannot tell how long we have been trapped here
and now the way out lands here at my feet
another whirl around, another game another clown
one quick cut and sleep the dreamless sleep
one quick cut how simple it would be
Helen:
Where do you go now
when all that you love
and all of your world is broken
all of its gone
all that you lived for
all you believed and you hoped
where do you go when its over
from where your heart broke
where is my sister
she came through this way
she's all that i've left shes all that i got
shes all that remains
Sheriff:
there a place for us i know
past this strange and awful show
past this mad land and these dogs upon our throats
there's a place for us i swear
if i only knew just where
some where far away we'll find another home
all i've left is just this gun
and i will take out anyone
who comes to take or harm you this i know
Han Mi:
This carnival is all we have to run to
this nut is all we have help us through
the voice who froze our town
is coming for us now
we're all we have to help ourselves on through
Henry:
Where are we going
and why even try
they'll gut you and smile and gut you some more
in a world made of lies
clutching our memories
that are untrue at best
lies and illusions and sadness and loss
these are all we have left
....
Raven:
Bring to me your pain your bitter bondage
bring to me the tears that cut your face
the lost here bid you come
ah, dear Helen, my lost love
what a mad last bedlam we could make
One of you has got the gift i’m certain
it must be you and you must be my queen
to see that one more time
is almost worth staying alive
oh then what a sweet sound that could be
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4. |
Tour Our Grounds
08:13
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Floozies:
We gettin dolled up here Raven baby
we dustin on off all the fun time gin
the night is poised and its salivatin’
the carousel is cranked and is set to spin
They gettin riled up here raven baby
the midway’s bein’ lit like good old times
the bally’s bein blared by the barker
baby its all set up all down the line
Raven:
We’ve got this woman with a tumor
that thing's bigger than her head
they say it laughs and loves to drink
and even smokes in bed
they say it swears like a sailor
they say she wants to die
they say the tumor wont let her
it makes her stay alive
There’s freaks and geeks aplenty
with souls that're so grotesque
they'd make the timid vomit
and that just you in the mirror my friend
we've got many here in transition
to some kind of animal but truth?
i'll tell you a little secret
the only freak show here is you
Floozies:
Take the tour and ride the rides
What sweet thrills we have inside
Where the unchained laughs reside
What sweet sounds and such strange sights
And the show goes on all night
All you want awaits inside
Raven:
Over there we have a mermaid
who in a tank of vodka stays
in that tent the clowns will pay you a magic coin
to let them have their way
We've tents containing mazes
and mazes made of tents
we build them out of discarded dreams
that folks here in their old lives left
See, theres those with thirsts and hungers
that mundane life cannot fill
so they search inside a bottle
or try to find it in a pill
but the solution’s like a piece of math
an equation they cant speak
if they solve it they would end up here
we 're the answer that they seek
Floozies:
Take the tour and ride the rides
What sweet thrills we have inside
Where the unchained laughs reside
What sweet sounds and such strange sights
And the show goes on all night
All you want awaits inside
……….
Raven:
All who come are welcome
you may feast on every vice
and i saw what you did back there
set the narrative on fire
Youre so confused my darlings
they really did a number on your minds
you know you're not in the real world
you've left that long behind
You've heard of the collective unconscious?
Well that's where we are now
you and i are trapped here
and yes, your whole fake town as well
but we both know they're coming
coming for you and when they do,
there'll be a door that's open
and that's our ticket through
These little nasty computers
who've ben messing with your lives
dont think i haven't noticed
they've been studying Llyod for quite some time
Yeah, a few of these fair tricks
i certainly know well enough
Helen:
Wait, who's Lloyd?
Raven:
(Sighs), the only man i ever truly loved
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5. |
The Hall Of Mirrors
06:57
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Floozies:
Whacha wanna do raven baby?
whacha wanna do with these chumps?
Ya wanna get some time with the lady?
ya want we should give em the dump?
Raven:
The time has come for me and miss helen here to be alone
have a little date night, take her to the show
these three take to the hall of mirrors, the pathology maze
they'll get lost in their own sadness for at least a couple days
…..
Han Mi:
i'm a lost, lost child
i'm a lost, i’m a lone, long lost child
forgotten what i seek
a ghost upon the street
i'm a lost, lost child
i'm a lost, lost child
swallowed whole by the wild
the soft embrace and song
oh my memory of it’s gone
i'm a lost, lost child
the pain of the world
and the cages made of time
the loss and the tears
and the path you don't find
lost out in the night
left out in the wild
with the young girl's smile
she's a lost, lost child
i'm a lost, lost child
i'm a lost, i’m a lone, long lost child
an old picture of home
that was burned down long ago
i'm a lost, lost child
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6. |
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Tunnel Girl:
They say theres some room here
beneath the streets somewhere
where some robot people they live
this room where they're livin
they say it's real hidden
but im gonna find em i will
when daddy was young he's a scoundrel
with charm and a smile that would shine
with fingers so quick and so nimble
cash flowed through his hands just like wine
he showed all them good times to mama
she says he swept her off her feet
then they got a small flat
with his questionable cash
and then they had helen and me
i never did know him
when he was young and happy and smiled
they say that the good times
were before i was alive
smokes dont light right in the rain
your smokes dont light right in the rain
your smokes dont light right in the rain
daddy got into some trouble
and so they crushed one of his hands
mom left when the good times had ended
and then daddy just drank and got mad
he'd take it all out on poor helen
the bruises she had, what a sight
but one day he let loose
and was slappin me too
and helen stabbed him right there with a knife
i know if id just known him early
he'd'a been so much sweeter to me
we'd be like them girls in the park there
on the playground on sundays in spring
with daddys who were always smiling
protecting their girls if they cried
always telling them nice things
like i love you, im glad youre alive
theres gotta be something
worth saving in each
theres gotta be something
worth saving in me
smokes dont light right in the rain
your smokes dont light right in the rain
your smokes dont light right in the rain
we did okay out on the streets then
helen and me we got by
til all of that talk about voices
robots talkin to her in her mind
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7. |
See Our Show
06:36
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Floozy:
Raven baby, the show is all set and ready. we're just waitin fer you, sugar.
Raven:
( sighs) All right then, let’s show em how it’s done
Goodbye now to all you knew
the pain of birth comes for you too
all before will fade to black
and once youre through theres no way back
(audience sounds)
Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the main show! Tonight we have a very special performance, simething we like to call The Seduction Of Helen! You'll love it, darling, it's a scream, an absolute scream, darling. Maestro, music please.
Though i'm sometimes seen with gentlemen i do make the exception when
a particularly luscious specimen of the gender known as feminine
such as yourself miss helen comes across my path every now and then
and the tango of seduction begins again...
That's your cue, boys
My baby, he done left me
so long ago from now
they’ve faded the years
until now that you're here
to relight that flame somehow
Love, exciting and new
come aboard, we're expecting you
Long ago, way back when we
were so young then oh Lloyd and me
strapping lads, in love were we
each with the Gift and with a dream
ah the worlds, him and me
all those timelines oh so sweet
swirling and diverging and we swam it all did we
Those were the days my friend we thought they'd never end
when we were young, like gods out on a spree
like surfers on a sea made of reality
this could be yours, a tale of you and me
You should have seen us back in the day, Miss Helen. Two post humans, each with the Gift, in love, on a whirlwind of adventure and romance, back when i was David Adams, building the playhouse and the carnival, surfing narratives like waves… this could be you now. It'll be the best time of your life, one you'll never forget (sighs) or get over
Uncle raven, the subject, of Helens fantasy
she wants him, so badly, says Raven take me please
Be my angel, my angel, be my angel be with me
Someday you learn and you will burn like my heart…
Someday love will find a way, what moronic suckers pray
crappy musicals will say someday love will find a way
Would you like to ride on my beautiful balloon?
the world is awful nice on my beautiful balloon
Floozy:
we could float among the stars together you and i
oh we could fly, we could fly
Raven:
What a power couple we can make my love!
I know it's all a bit sudden, but trust me, one of our kind hasn’t emerged in generations, and the last one... what a waste, mountains in the west my ass. Many who awake don't make it, self destruction, insanity, some get lost in little, recursive sub realities... but I can show you the ropes, guide you through your flowering, just join me, end my decades of imprisonment and lonliness
It’s a beautiful night
We’re looking for something dumb to do
Hey Helen, i think i want to marry you
I’m getting married in the morning
ding dong the bells are gonna chime
pull out the stopper, make it a whopper
but get me to the church on time
Floozy:
Church on time, church on time
church on time get him to the church on time
Raven:
Do you Raven take Miss Helen to be your lovely little queen
to have and to hold til death do you oart?
oh i do, i do... woah, déjà vu
Floozy:
Raven baby
Raven:
This carnival has roamed the outer narrative byways for centuries. It is legendary. We just.. had a skirmish with a demon that went dreadfully wrong and since then we've been trapped in the collective unconscious with all our doorways broken. But now you're here. A fresh start. It could be like it was at the beginning. You have no idea the wonders i can show you, just consumate the union my love
Floozy:
Whacha gonna do now, Raven?
Raven:
im gonna tap that tap that (what?)
im gonna tap that tap that (what?)
big ol butt, big ol butt, im gonna tap that big ol butt
Floozy:
big ol butt, big ol butt, he's gonna tap that big ol butt
Raven:
give it up, give it up to me, give it up to me
give it up, give it up to me, give it up to me
give it, give it up, baby give it, give it up to me
give up, give it up, give it up, well give it up to me
i dont want anybody else
when i think about you i touch my self
i touch myself, yeah
Goodbye now to all you knew
the pain of birth comes for you too
all before will fade to black
and once youre through there’s no way back
What's wrong? Godammit Helen, i offer you worlds to explore, power to weild, creations to build! whats holding you back? Are you in love with someone else? No! you are! Who? Oh please dont tell me it's sheriff sexypants. How droll. Is it? Who is it helen? Who's my competition? Who? WHO?
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8. |
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Han:
Henry? Henry, can you hear me?
Henry:
Yeah, but i can’t find you. I can’t get out of here, it’s another recursive loop variation.
Han:
Just stop. I don’t think this maze can be solved. Listen, we did this once, we broke the other loop at the cabaret. We can break this one.
Henry:
I don’t even know what we did…
Han:
Hold my beer.
Henry:
Hold your beer?
Han:
Just stand back. I can do this.
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9. |
The Big Tent Show
12:26
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Raven:
When the story of your life becomes unfurled and you find
that it was just a fabrication
And all you loved or thought you had or thought you lost
was just an excersize in baseline exploitation
Whatever heros noble journey that you're on is just
a drunken run from tears to degradation
And all you'll ever know is desperation as you try to find distractuon to avoid stagnation
stay with me
stay with me
stay with me
stay with me
All your trials big and small
they mean nothing after all
it means nothing, means nothing after all
All the good men youve known
they will all die alone
it means nothing, means nothing after all
The truth behind your life's not even worth the time it takes to make a wish in hopeful expectation
yours is a truth filled woth abuse and patricide and years spent scrounging on the streets in depravation
here with me i offer so much more than love or the useless life of quiet desperation
emancipation of reality is yours, its deviation and the joys of domination
stay with me
stay with me
stay with me
stay with me
All your trials big and small
they mean nothing after all
it means nothing, means nothing after all
All the good men youve known
they will all die alone
it means nothing, means nothing after all
…..
Helen:
you must survive this
you will get through this somehow
you must survive this
just breath' let it out
do not break now
just wait until this ends
just survive this
then go ans find your friends
this is madness,
maybe he'll make a mistake
there is always
the chance you can escape
if you hurt him
will he hurt you even worse
you could kill him
i think i did this once before
you must survive this
you must get through this right now
you must survive this
just breath and let it out
…
Raven:
Helen don't you want me
all the lovers that you choose
they will all one day leave you
Helen don't you want me
leave you nothing but alive and with nothing esle but time
Helen don't you want me
oh nothing else but time is all you'll ever find
…..
Han Mi:
You will leave her alone, you will go
you will step down or i swear that you will know
such sorrow, grief you cant believe
screams of anguish and of strife
and in your torment and in tears you'll scream and cry
to end your life, i’m han mi, i
you will beg me then to die
beg me cease, unholy things
pain and woe you will know if you do not let her go
Raven:
Ooooooh, you are magnificent. Wow did i screw this up. It wasnt helen that broke the cabaret, was it? It was you. You're the one. Oh im an idiot. Do you even appreciate what you just did? You changed the narrative.
Han Mi:
I want the door out of here opened
Raven:
Well, while it's not me who you should be asking, if you understood this sort of thing better, which i could have... oh, that has sailed... you'd know this is exactly the sort of moment where...
Sheriff:
w...w... we...
Helen:
Hank whats going on?
Sheriff:
I don't know... w.... we.... we.... we wish to initiate confrontation. Confrontation….
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10. |
Hello AI
05:03
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Sheriff:
…. initiated.
i remember now, things i once knew
from before i was put here with you
from before i had this skin and eyes
back when i, was an AI
i've seen elysium i fear
i survived those 20 years
and since then i have been machine
and another 20 years it's been
i remember now, as if a dream
lost hallow was our latest scheme
plant the town here like a seed
it wohld grow if folks believed
we'd put you here, to do the show
but we needed eyes to watch you go
this spy you all must trust, believe
and so we wiped my memory clean
i believed it was real just like you all
i felt human for the first time in so very long
and the reasons why, you will,not quite grasp
we're in a war that we're losing fast
we chose you 3 with all the risk
in part cause you will not be missed
the lives you dont remember now
were sad and doomed there anyhow
and in the psyche deep and vast
we've put you to perform your task
we're coming to reclaim you then
we'll wipe your minds and start again
yet for awhile i felt love
i hadnt for so very long
i felt the flesh, i felt the blood
such beauty i cannot give up
i have a gun, i know things too
i wish i still was on of you
bad things will come very soon
i know the things they'll make me do
the light died upon our pale lives
but it rose with you on that stage
i'd still save you each
even if it's fom me
for miss helens last pace from disgraced cabaret
(puts gun in mouth…)
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11. |
See You All Again Soon
04:27
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Raven:
the time has come for us to go
we've had so much fun you know
but alas all good things they must end
just walk through there and do not stray
at the other end the world awaits
perhaps you may see us again
out there the mad run the streets
the powers in the hands of freaks
but you know where to find us by now
when you’re lost your last screw
we'll be waiting for you
our carnival's come back to town
Tunnel Girl:
Hey mister. i dont often run into people down here? You lookin for something? I'm looking for my sister.
Raven:
Is her name Helen by chance? It is! You know, i did just see a helen. I can take you to where she just was. it's not far, it's... sayyyy... have you ever been to the carnival?
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Paul Shapera Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Cama’s attempt to commune with higher beings failed; she only found Decadent Dottie. Together they roamed, indulging in dangerous forms of psycho-neural self-exploration which Cama hoped would present the key to her people’s further evolution. It only led to her destroying her people so that one of their pets could evolve. She sat in her former civilization's rubble and listened to Paul Shapera. ... more
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