Get all 6 Julia Ecklar releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Rise Again (The Lost Concert), Indistinguishable from Magic (The Lost Concert), Horsetamer: The Bonus Reels, Horsetamer, Divine Intervention, and Traveller.
1. |
Overture
03:10
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2. |
Ladyhawke!
03:56
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My jesses are fear and my hood my own lies,
My wings pinned to ground by my thieving.
Each evening I swear that tomorrow I’ll fly,
But each dawn breaks not believing.
I’m a mouse among men, with no goals, no dreams,
No reckon of right or of wrong.
But a magical maiden, more real than she seems,
Fills my soul with the glory of song.
Ladyhawke! Ladyhawke! Fly bravely on,
Wings spread at each morning’s light.
Ladyhawke! Ladyhawke! From dusk to dawn,
Teach me the magic of flight.
I feel strange lending help when I don’t even know
Where she’s headed or where she has been.
But my heart answers, “Yes!” before my head says, “No,”
And, too soon, I am drawn in.
But it’s not just her beauty, for beauty I’ve seen
(‘Though she outshines what beauty I know).
It’s the faith she can place in the truth of a dream,
The good she believes I can show.
I know I will always be weighted to ground,
‘Though the path of the birds I admire,
But she makes me believe in the promise I’ve found
Chasing flight’s dream ever higher.
For “unheard of” means only it’s undreamed of yet;
“Impossible” means not yet done.
The magic I’ve seen here I’ll never forget,
The miracles love has begun.
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3. |
Crimson & Crystal
03:31
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Crimson and Crystal deck Her shadowed halls,
And in incense and teardrops, Her voice gently calls.
But in that silent kingdom, the sun never shines,
For She’s locked it away in the fortress of Time.
Her eyes, they are hollow like deep, empty pools,
And Her touch is like ice that makes mortal blood cool.
Her existence is longing; She’s waiting for me.
My sweet Lady Death will soon set me free.
For in mansions of shadow She wanders each night.
But She’s ever alone outside Time’s patterned flight.
As She lays down beside each new lover She takes,
She whispers their names and they never awake.
Crimson and Crystal deck Her shadowed halls,
And the time soon is coming when we’ll all be called
To lie down in the silence of Her crystal sleep,
Where She’ll watch us and guard us in Her crimson keep.
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4. |
Burnish Me Bright
05:09
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A box made of glass keeps the real world at bay;
I feel the glass press in each word I can’t say.
Like butterflies’ wings,
Crushed between the glass panes,
A mute can’t for mercy beg, or cry to ease the pain.
The glass passes sound only in, never out —
I hear what they say of me,
I know the things they shout.
This magical glass, no one but I sees.
A wizard might break this spell,
His magic set me free.
What magic is left in a world grown so old?
All magic died long ago, so we are often told.
My wizard would know where the magic now hides —
It passed into silence, where he keeps it yet alive.
Like magic, his hands teach my silence to sing,
And magically silence lets the butterfly take wing.
And I am a hawk! A great, noble tree!
The silence is everything,
The wizard is the key.
I learn how to speak with my body and eyes.
I pantomime miracles in the magic silence buys.
I’m no longer tied to a world bound in sound —
I silently soar away from the bitter, broken ground.
As I knew he must, the wizard hands to me his throne.
He mimes now to Heaven’s halls; I mime to trees, alone.
Burnish me bright, before the night comes,
And look down from Heaven’s height
To bless the mimes I’ve done.
Burnish me bright, before the night falls.
I shine brighter than the stars.
The silence makes me all.
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5. |
Apocalypse
02:57
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6. |
Survivor's Song
03:31
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Tell me about hope.
Tell me of nobility,
Of dignity, humanity.
Tell me that the crowds I see
Are gathered out of loyalty,
Of how the tears in dying eyes
Will see where our brief future lies.
Yes, tell me how...
Tell me how we’ve won.
Tell me we’re at least alive,
We get to live before we die.
Tell me what we’re waiting for,
What lies beyond those bolted doors.
Tell me that the world I’ll see
Is not all that it used to be.
Yes, tell me how...
Tell me about hope.
Tell me that the souls I see
Who scream in silent agony
Are not our only legacy,
That time will help those left to see
We’ve grown beyond our frailty,
That falling ash and tainted land
Are not all that is left of Man,
That trust can be alive again,
There’ll be men left to try again.
Tell me that humanity
Won’t repeat such insanity.
Tell me in a year or more
There’ll be something worth living for.
There’ll be nothing worth living for,
So tell me how to go on.
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7. |
Terminus Est
03:52
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The shadow hovers o’er us, old and long,
Its power fuligin and vast.
Tradition slithers ‘round us;
Like serpent’s coils it’s bound us —
Bound us to the shadow of the torturer’s mask.
An ancient place the one I have and hold,
An ancient lesson I do learn.
Our job to slay the people,
Our fate to do the evil.
“Pity the poor prisoners, may the torturers burn!”
We must not sway beneath our heinous work;
Compassion is the greatest crime.
I take one life in kindness,
They damn me for my blindness
And I’ll bear that stigma ‘til the end of my time.
Her memories haunt me when I’m most alone;
No longer can I see the right.
Unwilling penance claws me,
Conciliation draws me
Into my grim future, into Urth’s blackest night.
The sword of this sad lictor
Of uncounted deaths can tell.
Her blade marks the division
Between living death and Hell.
So as I journey toward a hated post,
Despair is in her finest hour.
Upon God’s path must I tread,
My fate to make and raise dead,
Wielding like a sword an old and Urth-saving power.
If I but knew the use of what I’ve learned
Some hope might override my strife.
Can death be so appalling?
Humanity is calling
Me to be their Savior at the risk of my life,
While I must sew the Death
From which a new sun must rise.
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8. |
Fallen Angel
05:14
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My God, what have I done?
Is this what I had to do?
I paid to save six lives.
Was it worth the price of you?
I would take your spirit in me
To make you live again,
But your fire dies across the sky.
My God, is this the end?
My steel and star-dry lady,
My soul’s death is at your hands.
As your own death was at mine, love,
‘Though even I can’t understand
Why we gods can’t live forever.
Why should legends have to die?
As you wail to sleep in glory,
My heart still seeks the sky.
There are stars before my eyes,
But they pale to your dying.
You swore we’d outlive Time.
Oh, my love, were you, too, lying?
What’s my life without your singing
When I’m not but flesh and bone?
Where have I damned my lover’s soul
To wander all alone?
But this death I can’t deny
As you fade to distant ember.
My need to steal from death
Cost you, love. But I’ll remember.
And I long to burn there with you,
To never live again.
Forever we would light the sky.
My God, is this the end?
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9. |
Temper of Revenge
06:16
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We were sworn to protect a timeless land,
Our steel pledged to greater goals,
Meant to serve what our Lords deemed as good,
Part of a greater whole.
We swore Lords a pledge with breath and tongue —
A pledge I now break with my heart.
Those beliefs impede what I’m called now to do,
My allegiances sunder apart.
My soul was torn from me this day;
Half of me lies interred in his grave.
That shattered life I can never retrieve,
No well-meaning wizard can save.
So find me a horse, as red as the sun;
Find me a blade that will make their blood run.
I will ride out at dawn, while the sun’s in the sky,
So the buzzards can see where the bodies will lie.
Bring me my lance, bring my shield.
Strong as my sword is the vengeance I wield.
To seek vengeance is wrong,
Claim my masterful Lords,
But vengeance has tempered my sword,
Vengeance has tempered my sword.
My companion was made to be half of me,
We were sealed in both body and soul.
What is life to one Human alone?
How can one, Unpartnered, be whole?
He was slaughtered at night — not a warrior’s death.
All goodness seemed useless and vile.
Good let my fragile world be destroyed.
My oaths by such lies were defiled!
Forgive me, my Lords, for what I do.
Know that this sinner is suffering, too.
But your virtues pure don’t allow what I plan,
And, by God, I’ll pay killers their due!
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10. |
Crane Dance
04:33
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“In all things, there must be balance.”
So my teacher says to me.
“Living life’s the point of things,
But balance is the key.
There is power in the balance
That allows a crane to stand.
My son, you must learn balance
To assist your empty hands.
“For balance guides the butterflies,
And lets the seasons turn.
The greatness inside any man
Is the balance that he learns.”
In my life there’s been no balance —
I was taught to lose or cheat.
How am I to balance
With no ground beneath my feet?
How will learning to be hurt and hate
Help me to have a chance?
While a crane may stand by balance,
You will never see one dance.
For balance is a fairy tale
I never will achieve.
The naive may find balance,
But the bitter can’t believe.
Still I try to catch my balance
Where the sand hills meet the sea.
Do I need another’s faith,
Or my own faith in me?
With my head above the water
I can sometimes see the land.
Could it be I must see balance
Before I can understand
That balance is as balance does,
Between the left and right?
Balance means you understand
The crane when it’s in flight.
Almost lost, can I find balance
In the guise of what I fear?
Could it be a test of fire
Must make the balance clear?
This fire only balances
The cold I’ve known so long.
From this balancing, I will emerge
A single human strong.
For balance tempers light and dark,
And guides these empty hands.
Like the crane, whose one leg bears his all,
With balance, I can stand.
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11. |
One Man Magical Show
02:25
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Ladies and gents at the front of the tent,
You will note there is naught up my sleeve.
My wizardry bold will end what doubts you hold;
I will make the worst cynic believe.
From illusionry grand to the flame on my hand,
I’m a miracle from head to toe.
I’m a prestidigitational, arcanely sensational
One man magical show.
Now, our first trick’s not hard —
Take your pick, any card!
For the next I’ll need one volunteer.
Saw through bricks with a comb —
Kids, don’t try this at home!
I can make silver coins disappear.
I may be a tad proud, but I’ll say right out loud,
So that all of the world may well know,
I’m a simply unsurpassable, utterly irascible
One man magical show.
From birth, I’ve been blessed
With uncommon finesse
And charisma just short of divine.
As if that weren’t enough,
I am quite up to snuff
In all civilized arts from good beds to good wines.
Any fool can plain see I’m the best best can be,
But for those who might be a bit slow —
I’m a simply unsurpassable, utterly irascible,
Prestidigitational, arcanely sensational
One man magical show.
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12. |
Silver
02:44
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Foolish little girl,
To love a singer boy like me.
Within my eyes, what do you see?
If you told me love,
I’d know it wasn’t true.
It’s just another dream,
It’s never what it seems
To foolish girls like you.
Listen to my songs,
And not the things my eyes might say.
My silver tunes will lead the way.
I’ll be all that you need,
And keep you safe from harm.
So come, let’s run away —
You’ll find a better day
Within my patient arms.
Strings of silvered steel
That flutter like my silver heart.
‘Though flesh and steel must one day part,
I’ll never leave you cold,
I promise that is true.
You’ll need me for some time.
How could I leave behind
A foolish girl like you?
Although of silvered steel,
I know I’ll always feel,
My foolish girl, for you.
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13. |
The Hand of God
05:26
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You stood simply regal, all shadow and ire,
More distance between us than that of the fire.
For difference is wrong and I’m different from you,
And you’ll crush what you can’t understand.
You’ve taught me that sheltered we’re destined to stay;
You claim that it’s right we should cower this way.
For Man must never question what Nature has planned.
You said it was all by God’s Hand.
And we’re all in the hands now of God —
From here on, mere mortals have failed.
No matter the cost or the cause,
The strength of the Lord must prevail.
He shows us the wrong and the right,
Forbids us to speak and forbids us to fight,
Protects us from Dangers aprowl through the night,
For we’re all in the hands now of God, now of God.
We’re all in the hands now of God.
We’re just two-legged rabbits, hid safe underground,
Afraid to admit that we’ve long since been found.
If we ignore death, it just might go away
And leave us back where we began.
Just deny any questions outside a small range;
Feel safe all our lives, for our lives cannot change;
We’ll be told if it matters that we understand,
And be led to the end by God’s Hand.
So behold here the triumph God’s wisdom has won —
Behold here the damage that can’t be undone!
Stagnation is good, and we’re good to the core
While faith rots us like salt rots the land.
If your God helps the helpless, may He help you all well.
I am bound for the Outside to find my own hell.
If defiance means death, I would die before stand
Like a sheep to be thrown to God’s Hand.
But we’re all in the hands now of God —
From here on mere mortals have failed.
No matter the cost or the cause,
The strength of the Lord must prevail.
He shows us the wrong and the right,
Forbids us to speak and forbids us to fight.
But I’ll no longer run from the sounds in the night.
Leave it all in the hands now of God, now of God.
We’re all in the hands now of God.
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14. |
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I wonder how my world can live
With all the hate she harbors.
(Sleep, my weary world.)
And I’m scared of all how long it may last,
And just how soon it all may end,
And I wish the power to stop it all
Could rest within my hands.
I’ve seen her people dying for
Such bold and bloody causes.
(Sleep, my weary world.)
And the bodies of the innocent
Just wash up on the lengthening shore
While the rising tide of history
Just ebbs and flows again.
Oh, make me a cradle to rock my weary world.
Make me a gentle voice,
To soothe her when she weeps.
Make my arms strong enough
To hold her when she wakes,
And make me a lullaby so sweet and fine
That I can sing my weary world to sleep.
I wish that I could soothe away
Her jagged shards of hatred.
(Sleep, my weary world.)
And, ‘though my hands may bleed and burn,
I’ll hold my broken world to me
Until her ugly scars are healed,
And peace may reign at last.
If her fighting will not stop,
Then I’ll hold her that much closer
And sing my lullaby above the noise and pain of war.
And if her bleeding I can’t staunch,
I’ll bleed along beside her.
But I will not let her go,
No, I’ll never let her go.
When the stars have all burned out,
I’ll sing to her in darkness.
(Sleep, my weary world.)
And I pray a tender God may find me,
Huddled in the dark and cold,
And grant the weary world I shelter
One more chance to live.
May God grant my precious world
Another chance to live.
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15. |
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16. |
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17. |
Roxanne
04:20
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The sparrows’ wings beat out your name.
My heart beats out the very same, Roxanne.
Two sounds etched bright upon my soul, Roxanne.
I fear the words that can’t express
The limits of your loveliness,
The limitless amazement that is you.
Nighttime is a friend to me —
It hides my face and helps me see, Roxanne,
What elegance dares bear the name Roxanne.
I’m drunken by the sight of you,
The heights my love has swept me to.
I’d drown in you and die a happy man.
This moment is my very life,
Your name a sweet and killing knife, Roxanne.
I know you almost love me, too, Roxanne.
So think that you’re with me tonight,
And let me dream of all that might
Have just been mine if I had dared, Roxanne.
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18. |
Roxanne -- Instrumental
04:16
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