https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny9aE8a5q-w&feature=youtu.be
For me, this song captures what I see as the essence of West Virginia, which is earthiness combined with mysticism, violence combined with faith…
Fun Fact: Did you know that (in some circles) it is considered rude to refer to cats/dogs/etc as “animals” with the preferred term being “country folk?”
Although I am by no means a phallocrat, I do wish people would stop pushing for so-called gender equality. I don’t want half of the coins to have female faces on them, nor for 50% of statues and politicians to be women. I don’t want more female soldiers, engineers & race car drivers. And most of all, I would prefer it if “he” could remain the default pronoun.
Why? Because it takes something from people to be in the position which men have held for so long, and I don’t wish that for women. I think it is better for us to have a mixture of sunshine & shade so we can step into the public sphere when desired, but not be pressured to make it our home. Someone needs to retreat from consensus reality in order to stay in touch with broader and deeper truths, and traditionally that has been the role of women. Others need to be committed to staying in touch with consensus reality to work out its kinks and problems, and traditionally that has been the work of men.
I think men are better suited to ruling consensus reality, since they are slightly more mental and less emotional than women, giving them greater protection from the soul crushing ideas consensus reality inevitably contains.
It seems to me that the shared, public world of humans will always be a harsh one, filled with half-truths and warped values. I think this is just the inevitable outcome of a thousand different desires and perspectives coming together and clashing in the middle. For women to have one foot in and one foot out of this zone of harshness is a privilege that enables us to keep our psychic integrity and by extension preserve the sanity of the human race.
I definitely think women should be allowed in the public sphere just as men should be allowed in the private sphere, because you need these two spheres to have a high degree of overlap and communication to keep the public sphere relatively hygienic and the personal sphere sufficiently energized. But what I don’t like is women being forced more and more into the public sphere as though this is some great accomplishment and honor.
I still think the only true bastion of sexism in our culture is Hollywood & its buddy industries of fashion, music, beauty etc. They are sexist because they only cast women as sex objects or male persons living in female bodies. They don’t understand females as seperate beings in their own right. That is probably because these industries (for whatever reason) are so soulless that they no longer remember that an inner world exists and have mistaken shared beliefs and judgments for absolute truths. They are the enemy of the world within and by extension the enemy of women. If women want to fight sexism they should focus on these industries and not on getting more women into the senate. There is nothing in the political world that can give us what we are seeking.
Black flags fly in the streets today
Misty air, sky of grey
Pull my scarf up around my face
Everywhere is this place
His face.
In my home where the pictures hang
His mustache, his white fang
Light a fire and remove my gloves
He is everything I know
Of love.
I would like to run, but consequences are too severe
Trip I lose a finger, fall down I lose an ear.
Cross the street where the neighbors play
Jump and run, lemonade
Walk downtown where the black flags fly
Spin and spin, which way to
The sky?
Faces peer behind every door
Big black holes, nothing more
Touch the door, but I won’t go in
Win I lose, lose I win
Again.
I would like to run, but consequences are too severe
Trip I lose a finger, fall down I lose an ear.
Cross the bridge where the soldiers stand
Setting sun, handsome man
Cross the tracks where the money lies
Pick it up, which way to
The sky?
Wake up in my bed again
Happy dreams always end
Big black bubble follows me
Spin and spin, which way to
The sea?
I would like to run, but consequences are too severe
Trip I lose a finger, fall down I lose an ear.
Download MP3: Ear
Where does he go? Where in the universe is what I mean…
Does he fly endlessly through the skies sparkling, I was wondering?
Or does he sleep until the day has come to bring the spring?
What’s if he’s always near, like a breeze lying here, softly listening?
First we die, then we’re born, robes on our shoulders worn- it’s written in our hands.
He will come, then he’ll die, spreading out far and wide like sun across the land.
Wait for him, a cloud who bears the carriage of a king.
He will bring the living, although we must bring the dreams.
Why do I cry? Why do I feel this way, is what I mean?
Everyone knows the way life will go, always so, if they’re listening.
And when it hurts, it’s only nails forced through a screaming hand…
Why can’t I learn to bleed always remembering it’s his magic plan?
Everyone knows the pain leaves and come back again, that’s just the way life lies.
Throwing us on the wall, first we rise, then we fall; we’ve seen it with our eyes.
Wait for him, he will return on air so fresh and green.
He will bring the living, although we must bring the dreams.
Why is it cold? Here is my hand if that is what you want…
Look up there on the hill all the trees standing there waiting for their moment.
Why do I smile? Why does this passion fill me like a friend?
I can’t wait to remain for the time of greatest pain when we reach the golden end!
Clouds will fly in a wind, everything begins again, you wish that it would stop…
Waking up with your head bloodied in a spinning bed, it’s time to get back up.
Trees will spread in victory; they recognize their king.
He will bring the living, although we must bring the dreams.
Download MP3: The Green King
Everybody says the same old things; they don’t know what’s going on.
Lining up likes ducks in a row; they don’t know soon they’re gonna be gone.
Everything washes away they say, but they don’t know where it goes when it’s gone
Lining up with eyes on the drain they strain, while the moon rises above the lawn.
Shining silver on the great big house,
Shining silver on the little white mouse who runs to hide.
Shining silver on the white brick wall,
Shining silver where the shadows fall
The taste of iron inside.
Put the cuffs on their ankles and hands
Their legs will shake but we need them to stand.
Tuck a little piece of metal into each little mouth
Press their lips shut we need them not to shout.
Line them up against the white brick wall
Fire above their heads so they’ll start to crawl, looking for a place to hide.
Open up the back door, they’ll scramble in
Make certain that the last one is safely in then lock the door behind.
A man is asleep in a great big bed,
Stars glitter softly on his bald head,
He knows what’s going on.
He could try to change it, but it would still end the same.
He is just a player; he does not control the game.
He knows he’s just a pawn.
And so he sleeps with a contented snore
As they crawl like shaking children through his back door.
He knows they’ll be finished off by the stairs,
Choking on their own blood but he no longer cares.
All he can do is escape from their screams
By flying into a world made of beautiful dreams.
A world where the mice people are his friends,
A world in which life never ends.
Download Mp3: Mice People
5 bright stars that I’ve never seen before
Step by step walking on the checkerboard
You know, some things get easier with time
Blood flows much easier when I know the blood is mine.
5 dark knights sleeping underneath the skies
Toss and turn, thinking of the way you died
I can’t describe what is left of me more delicate than a lace
Hold me in your hand then let me slip into the wind and watch
Me fly.
Sometimes the sky is filled with eyes.
5 small boys I saw them inside my dream
Step by step but the checkerboard was green
You know, they never cried they were a bubble in the air
Flying in the wind they never knew that you were there
All of the time.
They were oblivious to the feeling of your eyes.
Step by step walking to the rabbit hole
And there I will forget, fall into a black so fine
That you were there with me when every wind
Was filled with time.
We were oblivious to the feeling of their eyes.
Download MP3: Five Dark Knights