Tag: Imaginary Lines Album Tracks

And you are trying to reconstruct a holy universe
And you keep relying on the self that only you know
And you are humble, and you are brave
And you can crest the wave above the swift, strong, submerged undertow

And you dwell within a prison in paradise
And you’re perpetually wandering beyond the painted lines
And you appear to make wrong choices at every turn

And you burn in undervalued anonymity
And you continue to crawl along the side of that muddy hill
And you are scary, and you are scorned
And your favorite store no longer is affordable

And you endeavor towards that which is right
And you pray for every mortal soul every night
And you’re bitter, bored, and blue
And you’ve got so much to do

And you revisit those spirits of lost youth
And you can see daylight back up that one-way path
And you will search for the poison’s antidote

And you will hope that someday soon it’s discovered
And the spring of life unobstructedly resumes its flow
And you are faithful while you are lost
On the dark side of Mars in a neighborhood where no one goes

Composition © 2003, Ric Albano
Publication © 2005, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Vocals
Bret Alexander
Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Ron Simasek
Drums
Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: Lifted from an extended poem, this song grew more in the studio than any of the early Imaginary Lines songs. The song builds with ever-richer arrangements through every verse and chorus, until finally reaching a crescendo through the guitar lead and last verse.

Song Trivia
This song was extremely difficult to name, going through several working titles in its first year, with Ric even holding a “name this song” contest with family in friends. Dissatisfied with any of the suggestions, Albano settled on the generic “Anthem” in tribute to Individualist Philosopher Ayn Rand, as this is a very self-reflective song.

So while I’m dancing on the head of a stick
Awaiting your distinction between “Joe Hero” and “Jack Convict”
I’ll fight the urge to quench the thirst
Of our ancestor’s cravings by not behaving so burned and conned

As my illusion of grandeur slowly crashes
One underlying discourse starts within
Will today’s holy palms become the ashes –
That will accompany tomorrow’s changing hymns?
And so that brings us to Good Friday;
“We both knew this day would someday come”
Although fasting from meat may make you hungry
I’d have never believed you’d eat your young

In a room off pothole infested roads we’d play
Those relative games of black & white & shades of gray
While fueling the urge to fill the void
In our ancestor’s yearnings without concerning this new paragon

Forsaken descendants, mechanical offspring
You’ll never have children while the burden consumes you
Forsaken ancestry – tear down the Temple wall, firebomb the pyramids,
Level the twin towers, then run!

But no one reminds me like you do
Of the ideals and ambitions that have been lost
Of all those naïve conclusions where we’d arrive, fooled
That the best things in life must harbor cost
And so we return to Good Friday, a verge that we’ve expected all the while?
Can either of us see beyond today? May Saturday’s dawn yet be compiled?

Harmoniously singing the songs of yesterday
In an attempt to fabricate those verbal games we play
Our aria is composed of tunes of our ancestor’s likeness-
Too polite to seize our day – Carpe diem!
I want it all and I want it right now!

Forsaken opportunity, situation unforeseen
You never did prepare for this day as reality
Forsaken opportunity – tear down the fortress walls, back-fill your foxhole,
Good Friday has come and now has gone!

Composition © 2002 Ric Albano
Publication © 2005, 2009, 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Vocals
Bret Alexander
Electric and Acoustic Guitars
Ron Simasek
Drums and Percussion
Sinclair Soul
Background Vocals
Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: This was upon its release, and remains to this day, the best Imaginary Lines song. It the longest song in duration and contains the most complex arrangement of instrumentation, yet deceptively sounds so easy going and simple. The lyrical content is complex and hard to decipher as it draws from several sources – poetic, spirtual, and real-life, while the instrumental “coda” section is a deliberate artistic statement on its own.

Song Trivia
Much of the song was written in a writing lab where Ric tutored while he was a senior at Bloomsburg University in 2002. Although it was actually a “dreary, dark, cold March afternoon” which happened to be a Friday, it was not Good Friday, as that was observered a week later.
The “coda” section was recorded separately from the song proper and it builds to included three piano tracks, three lead synthesizers, three guitars, and two full drum perfomances, along with the one simple, repeating bass line.