Procol Harum

Beyond
the Pale 

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1970


 
Whisky Train
The Dead Man's Dream
Still There'll be More
Nothing that I didn't Know
About to Die
Barnyard Story
Piggy Pig Pig
Whaling Stories
Your Own Choice

Whisky Train

Ain't gonna ride that whisky train
Ain't gonna burn up no more flame
Throw away my bottle down the drain
Ain't gonna ride that whisky train

To think that I could be so wrong
To be so sick and still go on
The way I drink it's been too long
Don't see much point in carrying on

I'm gonna lose these drinking blues
I'm gonna find a girl to make me choose
Between lovin' her and drinking booze
I'm gonna lose these drinking blues

Ain't gonna ride that whisky train
I'm tired of burning in the flame
Throw away my bottle down the drain
Ain't gonna ride that whisky train

Dead Man's Dream

As I lay down dying, a floor for my bed
And a bundle of newspaper under my head
I dreamed a dream, as strange as could be
Concerning myself, and somebody like me

We were in some city, the stranger and me
The houses were open, and the streets empty
The windows were bare, and the pavements dirty
I asked where I was; my companion ignored me

We entered a graveyard and searched for a tombstone
The graves were disturbed, and the coffins wide open
And the coprses were rotten, yet each one was living
Their eyes were alive with maggots crawling

I cried out in fear, but my voice had left me
My legs were deformed, yet I moved quite freely
My head was on fire, yet my hands were icy
And everywhere light, yet darkness engulfed me

I managed to scream and woke from my slumber
I thought of my dream and lay there and wondered
Where had I been? What could it mean?
It was dark in the deathroom as I slithered under
 

Nothing that I Didn't Know

Did you hear what happened to Jenny Droe?
Couldn't believe it, but it's true
Twenty-six, and now she's dead
I wish that I could've died instead

Did you hear what happened to Jenny Droe?
Did you see how thin and pale she grew?
So much suffering, could not hide
Endless heartache until she died

Did you hear what happened to Jenny Droe?
Strike me dead, make it a truce
Strike me dead, let me go
Nothing that I didn't know

Did you hear what happened to Jenny Droe?
Couldn't believe it, but it's true
Twenty-six, and now she's dead
I wish that I could've died instead
 
 

Still There'll Be More

I'll bathe my eyes in a river of salt
I'll grow myself right up to the sky
I'll sing in the forest, tear down the trees
I'll foul all the fountains and trample the leaves
I'll blacken your Christmas and piss on your door
You'll cry out for mercy, but still there'll be more

I'll put a blight in the orchard
I'll run wild through the fields
I'll waylay your daughter and kidnap your wife
Savage her sexless and burn out her eyes
I'll blacken your Christmas and piss on your door
You'll cry out for mercy, but still there'll be more
 
 

About to Die

About to die - the crowds applaud you
About to die - they'll resurrect you
Light a candle up in kingdom come
Light the way for the saviour's son
A candle burning bright enough to tear the city down

About to die - the crowds reward you
About to die - their cheers ignore you
Light a candle up in kingdom come
Light the way for the chosen one
No candle burned with fire enough to tear that city down

About to die - the crowds applaud me
About to die - they'll resurrect me
Light a candle up in kingdom come
Light the way for the savior's son
A candle burning bright enough to tear the city down
 
 

Barnyard Story

Chicken in the farmyard, there's an oven in your bin
You're growing old with sorrow, you're growing fat with sin
I was living in the graveyard, I was hanging from the wall
I was living in the desert, I was trying not to fall

Once I stood upon Olympus, then the heavens opened wide
I beheld that flaming chariot and I saw the sacred bride
Now and then my life seems truer, now and then my life seems pure
All in all, my thoughts are fewer - maybe death will be my cure
 
 

Piggy Pig Pig (originally Wash Yourself)

Wash yourself and see your sorrow, make every pitcher clean
Take a mop to swab the floor and destroy the evil dream
Counting houses full of lead, the evil eye on high
The streets awash with blood and pus, the new moon's in the sky
God's aloft, the winds are raging
God's aloft, the winds are cold
After leaving I was weeping - count it out in tolls
Watch the book, the page is turning - how the tale unfolds
Inside every cancered spectre,
inside-outside find your own
God's aloft, the winds are raging - God's aloft, the winds are cold
 
 

Whaling Stories

Pailing well after sixteen days, a mammoth task was set
Sack the town, and rob the tower, and steal the alphabet
Close the door and bar the gate, but keep the windows clean
God's alive inside a movie! Watch the silver screen!

Rum was served to all the traitors; pygmies held themselves in check
Bloodhounds nosed around the houses, down dark alleys sailors crept
Six bells struck, the pot was boiling - soup spilled out on passers-by
Angels mumbled incantations, closely watched by God on high

Lightning struck out - fire and brimstone! Boiling oil and shrieking steam!
Darkness struck with molten fury, flashbulbs glorified the scene
Not a man who had a finger, not a man who could be seen
Nothing called (not name nor number) - Echo stormed its final scream

Daybreak washed with sands of gladness, rotting all it rotted clean
Windows peeped out on their neighbors, inside fireside bedsides gleam
SHALIMAR, the trumpets chorused, angels wholly all shall take
Those alive will meet the prophets, those at peace shall see their wake

Your Own Choice

There's too many women and not enough wine
Too many poets and not enough rhyme
Too many glasses and not enough time
Draw your own conclusions

My old dog's a good old dog
My old man's a silly old sod
The human face is a terrible place
Choose your own examples

Went to the river, but I could not swim
Knew I'd drown if I went in
Lost my faith in a terrible race
Rest-in-peace hereafter

Warning about copyright Words from other Procol Harum albums


 
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