the calm (instrumental)
music: steffen
tempest
music: steffen/menses
lyrics: steffen
all I heard was a but a voice in a gentle rainfall
a faint and far away sound
all I felt was but an unseen weight
was a presence waiting there
waiting always there
all I sensed was something lurking underneath the surface
a faint and far away fear
hidden underground
hidden underground
somewhere in the dark
in the daily grind all around
all I smelled was but the scent of water moving
a giant wave on the sea
you should better learn to swim now
some seas are too deep now
certain waves are way too high
it’s a serpent’s strike
when you’re not prepared
it’s a scary height
when you can’t look down
it’s the endless night
when you wait for the dawn
it’s something you felt
deep inside of you
something you denied
and you could not face
it’s the cry for hope
when there’s no hope at all
from out of nowhere
from out of a clear sky
when darkness descends and all love turns to ashes
in this very moment
we don’t own a thing
seems like everything’s lost but our voice in the roaring
just as if there is a sad god tearing at you
draining all life from your heart
everything we own
everything we know
everything we hold
everything to lose
from out of somewhere
from out of a clear sky
when darkness descends and all life turns to ashes
in this very moment
we don’t know a thing
seems like everything’s lost but a voice in the roaring
I’ll never forget the old look on your face
when the storm and the waves took your smile away from me
suddenly from me
so far away from me
still we are
still we are
running away from the storm
throwing our voice gainst the roaring
a time out of joint
music: menses/steffen/di gennaro
lyrics: steffen
and a drop wounds the water
yet the water heals soon
this hurt feels so different
tiny scars that we cannot mend
we‘re the grapes of a dark wine
in the garden of midnight
these things beyond choosing
they will keep us awake
like a sky without bright stars
like stars without sky
and the dreams we believed in
melting away in the snow
this is the time of the cannibals
this is the time of the hooded face
lonely man with a sharpened sword
in a time fully out of joint
this is a tunnel at the end of the light
this is a road we must walk on our own somewhere
these are the days when we have to hold
on to life
to live on
this is a storm with no beacon in sight
this is a pain that will keep us alive tonight
these are the days when we have to let go of all
all we knew
to stay sane
and you and I
each other’s chore
lone utopians
blind to all the precious sights
burning every bridge
to each and every bond
wielding our blunted swords
in a time fully out of joint
this is a tunnel at the end of the light
this is a sea we must sail on our own sometime
these are the days when we have to hold
on to hope
to go on
this is a storm with no beacon in sight
this is a loss that will keep us alive tonight
these are the times when we all have to
close our eyes
look away
stay alive
and the rain will wash it all away
music: menses/steffen/di gennaro
lyrics: steffen
finally at war
our armies gather out on plains
the silence grows, the sun sets soon
and the rain will wash it all away
now we’re all alone at sea
St. Mary‘s guiding the cursed few
through highest waves and darkest nights
and the rain will wash it all away
then down we fall
still holding on to
each other’s grudge
we’re variations on a theme
in spite of everything
for all we‘ve built and we’ve sold
in spite of all broken vows
one hundred bitter years
in spite of all misery
for all we’ve raped and we’ve torn
in spite of bale and of fear
one thousand bitter tears
so here we are
the dreamers of a long‐lost worn‐out dream
and still we are
like jesters rowing blindly toward the storm
and still our hearts are stained with memory
and the rain will wash it all away
now a gold‐haired girl
is singing charms into my ears
forgetting war, forgetting pain
and the rain will wash it all away
and soon we will rise
our armies at peace
still I’m holding onto
something, somewhere, sometime
in spite of everything
for all we‘ve built and we’ve sold
in spite of all broken vows
one hundred bitter years
in spite of all misery
for all we’ve raped and we‘ve torn
in spite of bale and of fear
one thousand bitter tears
so here we are
designers of a long‐lost worn‐out scheme
and still we are
like lovers racing blindly towards the end
our crippled souls stained with reflection
and the rain will wash it all away
ashes of summer
music: steffen/menses
lyrics: steffen
there lies a river
somewhere along the line
its water’s flowing
dividing city and sky
it sang a love song
the way the sirens sing
out on the sea
what did I hear?
another promise
a star to give some light
and I was aching
to hear a redemptive word
if there is a fire
please don’t let it go out
don’t let me go
don’t let it go
don’t let it slip away
you were a body
just like a sea aflame
a surge of wet salt
the drops I drank from your skin
there ran the river
dividing everything
what do we know
what have we found
what do we own
along the line…
all out of luck
walking the ruins of my yesterdays
I’m chasing down a road to nowhere
I’m going nowhere
all out of love
there is this poverty inside of me
a stranger in the light of morning
all out of life
there is this empty place beside me
and roads and rivers winding in a circle
all out of luck
all out of everything worth fighting for
now my heart is drying in the sun
my voice is sore now
from swallowing a dream
my body’s weak now
from feasting on our fears
this is the river
still running so deep
carrying you
carrying me
carrying us downstream
along the line…
all out of luck
walking the ruins of my yesterdays
I’m chasing down a road to nowhere
all out of love
there is this poverty inside of me
a stranger in the light of morning
all out of life
there is this empty place beside me
and roads and rivers winding in a circle
all out of luck
all out of everything worth fighting for
now our hearts are drying in the sun
in the shelter of a heartbeat
in the sultry heat of august, stars fell down
a myth written on water
music: steffen/menses
lyrics: steffen
I thought that it
would make some sense
thought it meant something
and outside two dancing leaves
that twist and curl
cold spring in Paris
and i thought that your love
would make the dark a little brighter
and i thought that your love
would make this weight a little lighter
some place so warm
sheltered and pure
how did we get there
and it seems not long ago
when suddenly this rain
made us draw the blinds
cause i thought that your love
would make the dark a little brighter
cause i thought that your love
would make this weight a little lighter
we’re hiding an abyss in our hearts
there’s a secret, dark and forbidding
that we won’t give a away
until the day
all promises get lost in fire
and when all the doors have been closed
all the chords are played and all songs sung
we turn our face to the sun
still dreaming of
another fragile myth
somewhere, sometime
cause i thought that your love
would make the dark a little brighter
cause i thought that your love
would make this weight a little lighter
I thought that it
would make some sense
thought it meant something
and outside two lonely leaves
that twist and curl
no place to belong to…
everything is lost
music: steffen/menses
lyrics: steffen
when the ceiling
is a sky full of memory
and the walls
are a tapestry made
of fading starlight
sun will light up a fire
and what seemed so safe
will melt away
this sound of falling
louder than silence
a sound that can only
be made by us leaving
all we have given
and all we have taken
all of it lost now
and this sound of leaving
as soft as a storm
a sound that can only
be made by us falling
a voice in the roaring
so stranded and small
I’m still yearning, still learning to live
once was a river
and it was seething with life
and there was laughter
new reliance and trust
down by the lakeside
but we lost it somehow
and that‘s really all there is to tell
that’s really all there is to it
that‘s really all there is to tell
this sound of falling
louder than silence
a sound that can only
be made by us leaving
all we have given
and all we have taken
all of it lost now
and this sound of leaving
as soft as a storm
a sound that can only
be made by us falling
a voice in the roaring
so stranded and small
I’m still yearning, still learning to live
and we are what we are
lovers and strangers
we are bound for a lone road
we’re leaving the past where it lies
and with the certainty that we
don‘t own a small thing
barely knowing each other
noone of us will ever be at peace
and this sound of wailing
older than time
a sound that can only
be made by dreams failing
shattered hopes
everything‘s lost
you’re not here
anymore
once was a river…
this sound of falling
louder than silence
a sound that can only
be made by us leaving
all we have given
and all we have taken
all of it lost now
and this sound of leaving
as soft as a storm
a sound that can only
be made by us falling
winglessy flying
like beautiful monsters
like butterflies inside the palm
the beacons of somewhere sometime
– in memory of my mother –
part I: maelstrom
music: steffen/menses/di gennaro
lyrics: steffen
somebody must have killed
the bird of good omen
somebody must have blindly sinned and sworn
gainst a bitter god
and then the ship went down
in cold light of winter
he fought the waves
but he had never learned
how to swim all alone
voices carry so
hush now
silence now the roaring storm
turn out the starlight
right now
shelter me
save me
from the dying of the light
we don’t own anything
and then it came on a cold misty morning
he never felt such a silence like this
he remembered the grey
some say it is what it is
but noone knows what it does
when it comes from out of nowhere
the undertow
the endless sway of loss
voices carry so
hush now
silence now the roaring storm
stay here
don’t just walk away
right now
shelter me
save me
from the dying of the light
I know
we don’t own one thing
part II: the path
music: steffen/menses
lyrics: steffen
it wasn’t long ago
that you went astray
so silently
so quietly
too faint to walk this old road
this winding path you trod on
troubled with fear
was paved with
grey-colored clouds
ain’t no bright Turner sky
there was a weight
in the shape of a man
infallible
monument
the unbreakable hand
there was a weight
in the shape of a war
invisible
so close it still
weighs heavy on me
let it go now
remember the life
remember the love
for that is all there is to say
and this was your life
and this was your love
beneath a canopy of stars
and this was the path that led your way
and there is something
that you have passed on to me
timidly
shivering
just like a moth in the palm
these are memories
the shape of a song
gratefulness
gentleness
weighing softly on me
I won’t let it go
remember the life
remember the love
for that is all there is to say
and this was your life
and this was your love
beneath a canopy of stars
and this was the path that led your way
remember the life
remember the love
for that is all there is to say
and this was your life
and this was your love
beneath a canopy of stars
and this is the path that led our way
part III: in this blinding light
music: steffen/menses/di gennaro
lyrics: steffen
further away is all I feel now
these windswept plains
petals are falling just like whispers
rivulets of fall are washing over my chest
and another tired year
ferments into wine
come back to me in dreams
with eyes as bright as
the sunlight on a stream
because I’m falling off
there’s a birch
guarding you
watching over the unthinkable
this is but a picture
this is but a notion
this is nothing but a futile fight
and in this blinding light
to me you’ll never grow old
in this blinding light
to me you’ll never grow old
in this blinding light
to me you’ll never grow old
and this is what remains
it’s what I keep
come back to me in dreams
with eyes as bright as
the sunlight on a stream
because I’m falling off
tides of light
carry you, carry me
far away from here
this is but a picture
this is but a vision
this is nothing but a futile dream
come back to me in dreams
with eyes as bright as
the sunlight on a stream
because I’m falling off
there’s a birch
guarding you
watching over the unthinkable
this is what I cling to
this is how I struggle
you walk slowly out the door
part IV: a canopy of stars
music: di gennaro/menses/steffen
lyrics: steffen
after the storm
how can we keep moving on
as weary as the sea
as tired as the mountains
but in the morning light
we are so surprised to see
our flesh and bone still save and sound
still hoping against hope
still breathing life
everything seemed lost
but voices in our memory
when a rainfall
washes all away
all stories and all names
we must be holding ground
and the things that have remained
must be enough to sustain
the splendor and the beauty
the remembrance of all moments
that we’ve shared, then lost in a storm
yet you and I, we’re not the same
anymore, not the same anymore
because we live in the flicker
a moment carved into midnight darkness
fleeting and bright
because we live in the flicker
beneath a canopy full of starlight
feed my heart with memory and let me go
because we live in the flicker
a moment carved into midnight darkness
fleeting and bright
because we live in the flicker
beneath a canopy full of starlight
feed my heart with memory
let it all go
swansong
music: steffen/menses
lyrics: steffen
and on this road
we thought that we could be heroes
we thought we could be kings
we thought that we could walk this road together
and some of us are dancers
some of us can swim
and some of us can throw their voice against the howling wind
some of us are dreamers
and some us can’t win
and some of us get lost in the endless waves
some of us are poets
and some of us can sing
while some of us have lost their voice from walking in the rain
some of us are lovers
and some of us are thieves
sometimes there’s no difference between you and me
and some of us are dancers
some of us can swim
and some of us can throw their voice against the howling wind
some of us are dreamers
and some of us can’t win
and some of us get lost somewhere in between
and some of us get lost at sea
still looking out, still looking out
for a beacon in the night