Tides of my soul...

Valentine Cameron Prinsep: At the Golden Gate

I’ve never known laugh before

And I can’t cry anymore, oh no!

I search for reasons to live

Where void’s too deep to break free – to scream

The tides of my soul

Are dragging me away

Affecting my mind

Making my heart so afraid

Another rain day on me

I cannot stand here to see, to live

A new deafening silence

And no more human presence – oh no

The tides of my soul

Take me so far away

Destroying my mind

Making my eyes so blind

Stillness of confusion

Lonely poor tricks of the reason bursting

Lightning, waiting

Sadness of the moment

Evil touch, heartrending lament

I am standing alone

The tides of my soul

Move up and down

Are dragging me away

From all these sounds

Destroying my mind

Holes in my head

Making me so blind

So dull and sad

The tides of my soul

Move up and down

What’s right what is good

In our world?

I’m scared by these times

Tears on my breast

Is that glory mine?

No no no my friend! 

(Adramelch - Tides of my Soul)

Blind leading the blind...

Pieter Brueghel: Blind leading the blind

I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
Morn came and went—and came, and brought no day,
And men forgot their passions in the dread
Of this their desolation; and all hearts
Were chill'd into a selfish prayer for light:
And they did live by watchfires—and the thrones,
The palaces of crowned kings—the huts,
The habitations of all things which dwell,
Were burnt for beacons; cities were consum'd,
And men were gather'd round their blazing homes
To look once more into each other's face;
Happy were those who dwelt within the eye
Of the volcanos, and their mountain-torch:
A fearful hope was all the world contain'd;
Forests were set on fire—but hour by hour
They fell and faded—and the crackling trunks
Extinguish'd with a crash—and all was black.
The brows of men by the despairing light
Wore an unearthly aspect, as by fits
The flashes fell upon them; some lay down
And hid their eyes and wept; and some did rest
Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smil'd;
And others hurried to and fro, and fed
Their funeral piles with fuel, and look'd up
With mad disquietude on the dull sky,
The pall of a past world; and then again
With curses cast them down upon the dust,
And gnash'd their teeth and howl'd: the wild birds shriek'd
And, terrified, did flutter on the ground,
And flap their useless wings; the wildest brutes
Came tame and tremulous; and vipers crawl'd
And twin'd themselves among the multitude,
Hissing, but stingless—they were slain for food.
And War, which for a moment was no more,
Did glut himself again: a meal was bought
With blood, and each sate sullenly apart
Gorging himself in gloom: no love was left;
All earth was but one thought—and that was death
Immediate and inglorious; and the pang
Of famine fed upon all entrails—men
Died, and their bones were tombless as their flesh;
The meagre by the meagre were devour'd,
Even dogs assail'd their masters, all save one,
And he was faithful to a corse, and kept
The birds and beasts and famish'd men at bay,
Till hunger clung them, or the dropping dead
Lur'd their lank jaws; himself sought out no food,
But with a piteous and perpetual moan,
And a quick desolate cry, licking the hand
Which answer'd not with a caress—he died.
The crowd was famish'd by degrees; but two
Of an enormous city did survive,
And they were enemies: they met beside
The dying embers of an altar-place
Where had been heap'd a mass of holy things
   For an unholy usage; they rak'd up,
And shivering scrap'd with their cold skeleton hands
The feeble ashes, and their feeble breath
Blew for a little life, and made a flame
Which was a mockery; then they lifted up
Their eyes as it grew lighter, and beheld
Each other's aspects—saw, and shriek'd, and died—
Even of their mutual hideousness they died,
Unknowing who he was upon whose brow
Famine had written Fiend. The world was void,
The populous and the powerful was a lump,
Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless—
A lump of death—a chaos of hard clay.
The rivers, lakes and ocean all stood still,
And nothing stirr'd within their silent depths;
Ships sailorless lay rotting on the sea,
And their masts fell down piecemeal: as they dropp'd
They slept on the abyss without a surge—
The waves were dead; the tides were in their grave,
The moon, their mistress, had expir'd before;
The winds were wither'd in the stagnant air,
And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need
Of aid from them—She was the Universe.

(Darkness, By George Gordon Byron)

(Blind Orphans - Scars in the Depth of my Mind)

White Witch

Boris Vallejo: Circe

Heart beat is rapid

Your blood pumping faster

Hands reach for the blade

Touch her

Feel her

Your body it craves her

She leads you to your grave

She's an image all dressed all in white

No, you know you want her now

Casting a spell

Her power on you

You'd leave but you don't know how

White Witch White Witch

Poisoning you

White Witch White Witch

Coming for you

White Witch White Witch

Taking your souls

White Witch White Witch

Taking control

Wrapped and enraging

I use to maintain it

Do you want some more?

Give her your money

Sell her your soul

The deadliest of whores

Wicked white demon

Is staring at you

Controlling all that you say and you do

Sweating intensely

The music's much loader

On the glass is a poison powder

White Witch White Witch

Poisoning you

White Witch White Witch

Coming for you

White Witch White Witch

Taking your souls

White Witch White Witch

Taking control

White Witch White Witch

Poisoning you

White Witch White Witch

Coming for you

White Witch White Witch

Taking your souls

White Witch White Witch

Taking control

She is now your only master

Your whole life's a complete disaster

Don't you dare

Let her in

As your final chore

White Witch White Witch

Poisoning you

White Witch White Witch

Coming for you

White Witch White Witch

Taking your souls

White Witch White Witch

Taking control

Taking my soul

Taking control

(Savatage - White Witch)

I feel you...

Arthur Hughes: Vanity fair

One rode to Asa Bay

Axel Linus: Viking

Ballad for a falling star...

Henry Wallis: The death of Chatterton

I’ll say all the words left unspoken in your dreams

Eternal sorrow for a hero dead young 

Now we sing your tale

We feel your passion so strong in our hearts

Eternal sorrow for the people dead young

Comforting truth for you

We met on a Christmas Eve so long time ago

And you shone in fairly colours

A wonder we don’t see anymore

I’ll wright all the music that you left incomplete

Eternal sorrow for my hero dead young

Now we call your name

Poetry and passion, their flame burns for a short while

Just the remembrance of my hero dead young

A ballad for a falling star

We met on a Christmas Eve so long time ago

Now come in a magic night to save a child who’s lost his way

Mr. Charming, rise again! It’s sad

to feel adrift and lonely. Today we die.

Come in a fairly night, let us see your glamour

Come in a fairly night, deliver us from our decert

We just want to say goodbye, in a distant sky you shine tonight

there you live forever

We just want to say goodbye, in the seventh sky you sleep tonight

there you live forever

Goodbye

(Moonlight Circus - Ballad for a falling star)

I' ll see the light tonight...

Gustav Dore: Lucifer (From Milton's Paradise Lost)

After midnight....

Lucio Parrillo: Vampirella

Too many times they tried to kill

The Prince of the dark

To put an end to his evil life

By means of a stake through his heart

But every time the sun goes down

The terror starts to rise

The gas lamps over the streets of London

Flicker as his cape flies by

He lost his soul to the king of darkness

From the first lethal bite

He lives his death in fear of the cross

The urge to kill every night

Too many countries have chased him hard

To destroy his need for blood

To seal his coffin with the ho1y nail

To stop before he strikes again

But every time they invade his castle

Nosferatu was never there

Those foolish victims are his next meal

Death is in his stare

He lost his soul to the king of darkness

From the first lethal bite

He lives his death in fear of the cross

The urge to kill every night

London after midnight

Blood lust till the down

London after midnight

Your mortal life is gone

Even he who is pure in heart

And says his prayers by night

May become a bat when the vampire prowls

And the moon is full and bright

Watch your neck

What's that shadow on the wall

A virgin boy on a black stallion

Just walked across my grave

London after midnight

Blood lust till the down

London after midnight

Your mortal life is gone

London after midnight

Blood lust till the down

London after midnight

Your mortal life is gone

(Wrathchild America - London after midnight)

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis...

John Haynes-Williams - Ars Longa, Vita Brevis 1877

Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!

The flower will bloom another year.

Weep no more! oh, weep no more!

Young buds sleep in the root's white core.

Dry your eyes! oh, dry your eyes!

For I was taught in Paradise

To ease my breast of melodies,--

Shed no tear.

Overhead! look overhead!

'Mong the blossoms white and red--

Look up, look up! I flutter now

On this fresh pomegranate bough.

See me! 'tis this silvery bill

Ever cures the good man's ill.

Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!

The flower will bloom another year.

Adieu, adieu -- I fly -- adieu!

I vanish in the heaven’s blue,--

Adieu, adieu!

(John Keats - A faery song)

Vivaldi Bassoon Concerto in E minor, RV484

Mvt 1

Mvt 2

Mvt 3

Kissing you goodbye...

William Adolphe Bouguereau: Bacchante

Young love waits out the window and I said go home,

Cause he don't know it's not his problem

And he don't know I'm not at home

Clock strikes three in the morning and I lie sleepless,

Cause he don't know I broke my promise

And he don't know I've done this

In the early light I found you with the bottle by your side.

I can see by your eyes you know that I,

I'm kissing you goodbye

I'm kissing you goodbye

What now? That is the question

But it's not up to you

So I think I will leave you guessing

After all you put me through.

In the early light I found you with the bottle by your side.

I can see by your eyes you know that I,

I'm kissing you goodbye

I'm kissing you goodbye

In the early light I found you with the bottle by your side.

I can see by your eyes you know that I,

I'm kissing you goodbye

I'm kissing you goodbye

Please, wash my car...

Fade to black...

Boris Vallejo: A Slender Thread

Symphonies of immortal winds!

Mårten Eskil Winge - Viking death

A choir of death is the echo of my nightmare

cold friend of the night

The cross of fire is piercing the darkness

lost cathedral of the hopes

Black and violet angels are waiting for me

near the backstage

The carriage of memories is running tonight

and the spirits will raise

Where is the sunset? Where is the dawn?

Where is the poet of the eternity's flame?

Violins play in the void of existence

Feel the breath of immortal winds

Mr. Risin' is flirting with the evening

Let the candles blow out without pain

When all the drams seem to be miscarried

close your eyes and the end will begin

Black and violet angels are waiting for me

near the backstage

The carriage of memories is running tonight

and the spirits will raise

Where is the sunset? Where is the dawn?

Where is the poet of the eternity's flame?

Violins play in the void of existence

Feel the breath of immortal winds

(Black Jester - Symphonies of immortal winds)

Medieval Steel (by the Warrior Queen)

Frank Frazetta:  Woman with skythe

(Alfred Tennyson - Sir Galahad)
My good blade carves the casques of men,

My tough lance thrusteth sure,

My strength is as the strength of ten,

Because my heart is pure.

The shattering trumpet shrilleth high,

The hard brands shiver on the steel,

The splinter’d spear-shafts crack and fly,

The horse and rider reel:

They reel, they roll in clanging lists,

And when the tide of combat stands,

Perfume and flowers fall in showers,

That lightly rain from ladies’ hands.

Warrior Queen (my friend Mary) - Medieval Steel : 

Strangers in paradise!

William Etty: The Sirens and Ulysses

You don't know what it's like

All alone in the night

Walking through empty streets

Ms mind still takes me back

To a place long ago

To a time in my life

That I just can't let go

If you wish for the sky

Are you ready to die

If you pray for heaven

Are you ready for hell

Sometimes it's hard to tell

When you finally arrive

Will you be there in time

I'm just another

Stranger in paradise

On a dark and lonely day

Stranger in paradise

I'm trying to find my way

I'm a stranger in paradise

I can't find my way back

Stranger in paradise

When the wolf's at your door

And he's hungry for more

There no chance to escape

Cause you can't change your fate

When your time finally comes

Will you still try to run

Never touching the sun

(Jack Starr's Burning Starr - Strangers in paradise)

On the sea...

Sir Edward John Poynter: The cave of the storm nymphs

It keeps eternal whisperings around

Desolate shores, and with its mighty swell

Gluts twice ten thousand Caverns, till the spell

Of Hecate leaves them their old shadowy sound.

Often 'tis in such gentle temper found,

That scarcely will the very smallest shell

Be moved for days from where it sometime fell.

When last the winds of Heaven were unbound.

Oh, ye! who have your eyeballs vexed and tired,

Feast them upon the wideness of the Sea;

Oh ye! whose ears are dinned with uproar rude,

Or fed too much with cloying melody---

Sit ye near some old Cavern's Mouth and brood,

Until ye start, as if the sea nymphs quired! 

(On the sea - By John Keats)

(Agent Steel - Traveler)

Forget what I said...

Philip Calderon: Broken Vows

I get the blues

I get high

I'll explode like dynamite

And i'll cry 'till the dust

Settles down

I guess i'm hard when i'm soft

And i'm cold when i'm feeling so hot

Sometimes i guess things just happen too fast

Forget what i said - forget what i did

It's not what i meant - so can you forgive it

Just came out wrong

I'm taking it back

Forget what i said

But i can love you like hell

Put under my black magic spell

And i can kiss you like nobody else

I'll make good of my bads

I'll make nice of all that is sad

I'll cut off - the dead hands - of my past

Forget what i said - forget what i did

It's not what i meant - so can you forgive

It's just came out wrong - i'm taking it back

Please forget about it

Swords in the wind

 Sir Francis Bernard 'Frank' Dicksee: Funeral of a Viking

I Surrender My Soul Odin Hear My Call

One Day I'll Sit Beside Your Throne In Valhalla's Great Hall

Like So Many Before Me I'll Die With Honor And Pride

The Right Of A Warrior Forever To Fight By Your Side 

Send A Sign Raise The Sail Wave A Last Goodbye

Destiny Is Calling Immortality Be Mine 

Call The Witch To Cast The Runes, Weave A Magic Spell

We Who Die In Battle Are Born Not For Heaven Not For Hell 

We Are Sons Of Odin The Fire We Burn Inside

Is The Legacy Of Warrior Kings Who Reign Above In The Sky 

I Will Lead The Charge My Sword Into The Wind

Sons Of Odin Fight To Die And Live Again

Viking Ships Cross The Sea, In Cold Wind, And Rain

Sail Into The Black Of Night Magic Stars Our Guiding Light 

Today The Blood Of Battle Upon My Weapons Will Never Dry

Many I'll Send Into The Ground Laughing As They Die. 

We Are Sons Of Odin The Fire We Burn Inside

Is The Legacy Of Warrior Kings Who Reign Above In The Sky 

I Will Lead The Charge My Sword Into The Wind

Sons Of Odin Fight To Die And Live Again

Viking Ships Cross The Sea, In Cold Wind, And Rain

Sail Into The Black Of Night Magic Stars Our Guiding Light 

Place My Body On A Ship And Burn It In The Sea

Let My Spirit Rise Valkries Carry Me

Take Me To Valhalla Where My Brothers Wait For Me

Fire Burning To The Sky My Spirit Will Never Die 

I Will Lead The Charge My Sword Into The Wind

Sons Of Odin Fight To Die And Live Again

Viking Ships Cross The Sea, In Cold Wind, And Rain

Sail Into The Black Of Night Magic Stars Our Guiding Light 

                    

(Manowar - Swords in the wind)

The valley of the deers...

Jef Louis van Leemputten: Viking warriors charging

(Vikings - Valley of the Deers)

Something Magic!

Sir Joseph Noel Paton: The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania

In the centre of the storm 

Something magic being born 

When the world is torn apart 

By the beating of a heart 

Like a dam about to burst 

Like a drunkard's crazy thirst 

In the centre of the storm 

Something magic being born 

It's the dark hours of the soul 

When the nightmares take their toll 

When the shadows come to mock 

Against the ticking of the clock 

When the demons of the night 

Come like vultures for their bite 

In the dark hours of the soul 

When the nightmares take their toll 

It's the dawning of the day 

Night-time's panic swept away 

When the clouds which seemed so dark 

Are exchanged for morning's lark 

When the stars which burnt so bright 

Are exchanged for morning light 

In the dawning of the day 

Nightime's panic swept away

(Procol Harum - Something Magic)

Remember yesterday

John Roddam Spencer Stanhope: Knowledge strangling Ignorance

Can you tell me why 

It seems so hard to carry on 

When you hear a voice 

From long ago, so bittersweet 

Even though I try, I cannot 

Read between the lines 

You know I tried 

Oh, yes, I tried, what's wrong 

Too late to turn back time 

To look over my shoulder 

Maybe one day I'll return again 

Rembember Yesterday and think about tomorrow 

But you have to live today - Oh lonely yesterday 

Don't leave me with the sorrow 

Cause I have to live today 

Every morning I awake 

To see the newborn day 

To carry on the flame 

Until the end of time 

Too late to turn back time 

To look over my shoulder 

Maybe one day I'll return again 

Rembember Yesterday and think about tomorrow 

But you have to live today - Oh lonely yesterday 

Don't leave me with the sorrow 

Cause I have to live today 

Oh, oh, oh, don't step aside 

And pretend about the future 

Oh, oh, oh, never live a lie 

Don't you know tomorrow never comes 

Rembember Yesterday and think about tomorrow 

But you have to live today - Oh lonely yesterday 

Don't leave me with the sorrow 

Cause I have to live today 

Oh, oh, oh, don't step aside 

And pretend about the future 

Oh, oh, oh, never live a lie 

Don't you know tomorrow never comes

Sons of Odin

Sir Francis Bernard 'Frank' Dicksee: Vikings heading for land

Carousal of Odin
Fill the honey'd beverage high,
Fill the skulls, 'tis Odin's cry:
Heard ye not the powerful call,
Thundering through the vaulted hall?
Fill the meath, and spread the board,
Vassals of the grisly lord!

The portal hinges grate, - they come -
The din of voices rocks the dome:
In stalk the various forms, and dress'd
In various armour, various forms, and dress'd
In various armour, various vest,
With helm and morion, targe and shield,
Some quivering lances couch, some biting maces wield:
All march with haughty step, all proudly shake the crest.

The feast begins, the skull goes round;
Laughter shouts - the shouts resound.
The gust of war subsides - E'en now
The grim chief curls his cheek, and smooths his rugged brow.
..........................................................
'Joy to the soul! a joy divine!
When conflicting armies join;
When trumpets clang, and bugles sound;
When strokes of death are dealt around;
When the sword feasts, yet craves for more;
And every gauntlet drips with gore.'

The charm prevail'd, up rush'd the madden'd throng,
Panting for carnage, as they foam'd along;
Fierce Odin's self led forth the frantic band,
To scatter havoc wide o'er many a guilty land.

Thomas Penrose (1742-1779), English poet

The king must die... Kill the king!

Boris Vallejo: Assassin of Gor

One way...


... or another...

Love is meant to last for ever...

Johann Heinrich Füssli: Arthur and the Faery queen

.... but forever is a long, long time...

Pour some sugar on me!

Step inside, walk this way

You and me babe, Hey, hey!

Love is like a bomb, baby, c'mon get it on

Livin' like a lover with a radar phone

Lookin' like a tramp, like a video vamp

Demolition woman, can I be your man?

Razzle 'n' a dazzle 'n' a flash a little light

Television lover, baby, go all night

Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet

Little miss ah innocent sugar me, yeah

Hey!

C'mon, take a bottle, shake it up

Break the bubble, break it up

Pour some sugar on me

Ooh, in the name of love

Pour some sugar on me

C'mon, fire me up

Pour your sugar on me

Oh, I can't get enough

I'm hot, sticky sweet

From my head to my feet, yeah

Listen! red light, yellow light, green-a-light go!

Crazy little woman in a one man show

Mirror queen, mannequin, rhythm of love

Sweet dream, saccharine, loosen up

You gotta squeeze a little, squeeze a little

Tease a little more

Easy operator come a knockin' on my door

Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet

Little miss innocent sugar me, yeah, yeah

Give a little more

Take a bottle, shake it up

Break the bubble, break it up

You got the peaches, I got the cream

Sweet to taste, saccharine

'cause I'm hot, say what, sticky sweet

From my head, my head, to my feet

Do you take sugar? one lump or two?

Across the Great Wide Sea...

Johannes Gehrts: Arminius bids farewell to Thusnelda

"Eager am I to depart. The Disir summon me home, 

those whom Odin sends for me from the halls of the Lord of Hosts. 

Gladly shall I drink ale in the high seat with the Aesir. 

The days of my life are ended. I laugh as I die."

- Death song of Ragnar Lodbrok 

(Vikings - Land of lore)

Valkyries

Charles Ernest Butler: Siegfried and Brunnhilde

How does it feel when you're cut down

And you can't get back up

When you're down and you need a hand

Someone to give you strength

There's just one thing that will do it

Don't let 'em take it away

It's the calling to battle

And you will ride the wings, yeah

Blood! Fire!

And the dead will ride the

Wings of honor

And the gods will lead our

Charge to glory

On that day for every man

Who rides

(ASKA - Valkyries)

The mission

Wilhelm von Kaulbach: Battle of Salamis

The autumn's vice on dregs of life has past

While roundabout the hills the snow drives fast

The mercenary slips his lair

And grappled in his hands there bears

The solitary hope of nations thralled

Wherefore comes this titan of men?

The seas lie in wait for his ships of stealth

'Cross monstrous waves of seething crests

And ocean vales of uneasy rest

Ne'er terror nor lust shall ever waylay

Tempestuous gales these masts will outstand

And hold steadfast 'til death or land

Ferried aloft the standard's face is revealed

And borne upon the winds of a godless zeal

He forges on through the perpetual dark

And closes in on the ancient ark

Where the fame of erstwhile heroes's stored

And all cherished tales of battlelore

The sceptre wrench'd from the master's hand

Argentine skies below he stands

Ferried aloft the standard's face is revealed

And borne upon the winds of a godless zeal

He forges on through the perpetual dark

And closes in on the ancient ark

Where the fame of erstwhile heroes stored

And all cherished tales of battlelore

The sceptre wrench'd from the master's hand

Argentine skies below he stands

Primordial mores are all but lost

The latter days know nothing of the cost

Insipid lives of lifeless men

Their doctrine's claim on penitence

Doth rules the weakest minds of those not freed

Ensanguined spoils of crusades' toils are fixed

To pietism's clasp on those betwixt the amalgam of gods and men

Our mercenary strives to rend

Anathematic bonds of theists' call, for one an all

The faithless one shall never fall

(Old season - The mission)

The art of war

Henry Merwin Shrady: Cavalry

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
“Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”
“All warfare is based on deception.”
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.”
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
“Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.”
“Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity”
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”
“One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.”
“Hold out baits to entice the enemy.  Feign disorder, and crush him.”
“Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
(And many more from Sun Tzu book The art of war)

(Manowar - Warriors of the world)

Only the strong survive!

Boris Vallejo: Conan

Search your soul 

Seek the truth 

Shed your fears 

Take control 

Life could be everlasting paradise 

We must be strong, we must unite 

Only the strong survive 

The task is now 

Can we face it 

A new age is coming 

Will we make it? 

Envision the future and fear for your life! 

The choice is ours, you must realize 

Only the strong survive