Friday, March 6, 2009

The Asterisk


(Keyboard and Guitar solo w/o drums - INTRO)
(Drums begin)
(Instrumentals – 1 minute)

From the voices of the ones unknown
Comes the story of the ones known
Not once, she’d flicker her eyes
Belief arose with the sunrise

Apathy kills the civilization
The stepping-stone has shattered to pieces
Trivial chants bring no salvation
You stand up and the world seizes to exist

I feel my soul crumbling within
The Cyprian feeds my sorrow
The sacrifice, a sin, freed from within
I see nothing above and nothing below

Freed from the stable to enter the dark
The light from the altar seeps through the crack
My fluttering soul recognizes the face
This is the last light, now, only the night shall last

(Bass and Guitar solo)
(Drums stop)

The asterisk rises from the West (GROWL)

(Guitar solo with drums)

The cold face had nothing to say
Washed out forever, no sun, no ray
I am freed to be banished far away
I sing alone in great dismay

Staring at the North in despair
Walking to the South into the snare
Pushing myself away from the glare
Breaking my word as life’s not fair

Objected and rejected! (Adlib)

(Guitar solo)
(Instrumentals – 30 seconds)

I sing alone in great dismay (spoken)


Copyright © Ajey Padival 2009 (Brisbane, Australia; +61-434360675; ajeypadival@msn.com)

Image by Cliff Michaels

48 responses:

Anonymous said...

Okay, so here's my wild card shot at the post!! It seems to be regarding the idea of escaping death?!
Haunting and mysterious....that's all I can say!!
P.S. The image put me in a trance for a sec or so! Nice choice!

Rikkij said...

Hmmm.. Bros I can never figure out for sure who you're running from or where to but I'm still on the hunt. Certainly a journey in the untangling. Nice flow. Cool stuff, Dude! ~Rick

Opaque said...

@Saadi - Umm, a nice thought there Saadi!!! Thank you!!!

Opaque said...

@Rikkij - The expression is quite indirect and not pertaining to me, this time. And, yes,I agree, you need to dig hard to figure it out. Sorry for exercising your mind Rick. Thank you!!!

Josephine said...

I like your song Ajay! It's a bit sad or even dark, but it talks about deep emotions that many people can relate to. There is so much chaos in our world, it's easy to get overwhelmed - at least for me. People are misunderstood and rejected as they search for their own identity, but the world may not care anyway... tough one...
Good stuff!!
-Alex

Opaque said...

@Alexandra - Yes, this one is pitch dark. But, so is the thought you have identified. I hope it is justifying the theme. Thanks a lot!!!

Make Me Disappear said...

Ajey, this one definitely hit my mind. First of all, sorry for not commenting on your blog for a long time. This week has been quite busy 'n all.

About the song, Brilliant. Dark and with full force. It does convey a lot of messages as people above identified. I could relate myself with this one.

Thank You for sharing this.

Opaque said...

@Make Me Disappear - Thanks a lot!!!
"Dark and with full force" - Nice!!!

Jeeves said...

This one travels across various images. Nice one

Opaque said...

@Jeeves - Thank you!!!

Shadow said...

the light the dark, the highs the lows, conquer defeat... powerful words, would love to hear the notes...

Opaque said...

@Shadow - Thank you!!! Well the theme deserved such powerful words.

Me, myself and I said...

I'm stumped! I agree with Saadi. "Haunting and mysterious" indeed! It's intriguing. I sense the dark mood but every stanza gives me a different picture, a different interpretation, so now you know why I'm stumped :P

Opaque said...

@Me, myself and I - Thanks a lot!!! Yes, each stanza carries a slightly varying story.

Bee Bee said...

The image goes well with the poem - somehow it seemed to me there is a quiet anger in there, but i could be dead wrong.

Thanks for stopping by.

Opaque said...

@Bee Bee - Thanks for visiting me. Yea, the image and my lyrics complements each other quite well.

Anonymous said...

SO, I am not sure what inspired you to put light and dark and the asterisk rising in the west. But there is the prophesy of the day of judgment and it is said the Sun will rise in the west and it will be a sign of the end. I don't know if you intended this to be religious, or pertain to a religion, but somehow, you managed to hit on it.

Makes me think of faith, losing faith, and the despair that follows until one returns to faith.

Linda S. Socha said...

HMMMM An existential crisis visited via music? Love the photo. It is a reminder of a richer version of the psychedelic culture?
Linda

Linda S. Socha said...

Bro
I.e.,
Dark night of the Soul?
Linda

Opaque said...

@Meena - Thanks for reading. I like your interpretation.

"Makes me think of faith, losing faith, and the despair that follows until one returns to faith." - Nice!!!

Opaque said...

@Linda - Yes, it is a psychedelic culture reflected here. Bravo with that interpretation. "An existential crisis visited via music" - cheers!!!

Opaque said...

@linda - Yea, it is!!! Thanks for reading!!!

Anonymous said...

ON re-reading, I can connect it to religion even more, sheesh:

"Trivial chants bring no salvation" - prayers, like rosaries and how it feels hopeless.

"The sacrifice, a sin, freed from within" - how sin feels like life is relieved from restraint

"Freed from the stable to enter the dark" & "I am freed to be banished far away
I sing alone in great dismay
"- But in reality, you are going from good to bad by starting with sin

"My fluttering soul recognizes the face" - recognizing faith/truth

"This is the last light, now, only the night shall last" - apocalypse

So yeah...maybe I was thinking of faith when I read it.

Opaque said...

@Meena - Staggering!!! You actually re-read it to brainstorm. I am impressed!!! And, I reckon that is a complement to myself as well.

Yes, you are quite close to the meaning Meena. You see, this one carries three different meanings. You have nearly got one of them. Or, I should hand it to you that you've nailed one. To help you understand better, I suggest you to click on the label below the post that says "Album THE". Check out the songs that show up. You will understand it even better!!!

Thanks a lot for re-reading this one and commenting as well!!!

Anonymous said...

OFC I re-read. I read all the posts in the album - I see the connection. Any particular faith inspire it?

BTW, I have that email...just go sidetracked with other things. :-)

Opaque said...

@Meena - Nah, not any particular faith as such. Thanks again for reading!!!

Khaled KEM said...

I can connect this one with the "The" Album as you mentioned to Meena. An original idea to connect all these powerful songs with one word "The".

"The" itself carries a lot of meanings and interpretations and it can take us in all directions.

For me "The Asterik" is the leading song of the album until others "The" appear.

I am actually reading it again to decode it. Well done Ajey!

Opaque said...

@Khaled KEM - Shokran!!! I am glad you like this one!!!

The Write Girl said...

Hey,

The last stanza in this song is wonderful. "Staring at the North in despair, Walking to the South into the snare, Pushing myself away from the glare"
I love the rhythm and flow to this piece.

Opaque said...

@The Write Girl - Thank you!!!

Anonymous said...

Freed from the stable to enter the dark
The light from the altar seeps through the crack
My fluttering soul recognizes the face
This is the last light, now, only the night shall last


loved these lines ... :)

Opaque said...

@Pretty Me!! - Thank you for visiting my spot. I am glad you liked it!!!

Walker said...

Interesting journey of the future, telling of the past and of what is to come, of what will be and was always meant to be.

Opaque said...

@Walker - Thank you!!! I was waiting for your response!!!

Judith Ellis said...

Ajey – Thank you for this nice, though somewhat complicated, piece. I have read it a few times.

These lyrics are laden with the ancient emotions of the entanglement of love and death, separation and enmeshment. It is being mesmerized by a woman who with her glare both enraptures his heart as a snare and judges and uncovers him. It is the same story told again and again; it doesn’t need a known voice, no particular friend. Its voice is existential, continuous, though the embodiment of the voice physically present in human form. She.

Love is the stepping stone. This is the story that begins with the acceptance of love; it is the story of shattered love that initially does not embrace apathy; it depends only on songs that the heart itself knows and the others can never be; in the light of such intense passion these others are mere ditties. When she arises, all else does not exist. She alone is the pain that he will one day own. Marriage.

The asterisk is blissful lovemaking…rising…rising…rising…

The lover believes that the pain will then begin; it is the lost of self, but the acceptance of her. It is far better to experience such love than not at all. Sacrifice. Why else would the sorrow itself feed when well-knowing what the stepping into the abyss will bring? Sin. Wild passion breaks free. Yes! But marriage perhaps is not for him. With it comes death of what could be. The other who knows him is also something he wishes not to be.

For him, marriage is the tie that binds, though commitment is the focus, the North Star, the guiding star. With commitment, movement ceases for him. The glare of the beloved, the acceptance of responsibility, he does not want. Sin is a better choice.

Though their love has already been consummated, commitment is sought after. Her face changes at the altar for him. Though it is the same face, it is the transference of his fears. North to her, though South instead. He ditches her at the altar. Marriage is death for him. The fairness of life aside, he is the weak one. Singleness he accepts, though deeply alone.

BTW: A writer may have specific ideas of what he or she wrote or perhaps even float things about unsure of its landing. But what is for certain is that the reader will always come to any piece with his or her ideas of it and even make something new out of it. Also, if writers’ write with the intention of making a puzzle out of the piece it is vague and not felt or if he or she seeks for others to guess its riddle it often escapes the reader altogether. I also appreciate variance in style and approach.

Continuity of images and ideas flow from others written or perceived, but the writer weaves a thread nevertheless to guide the reader. I am not saying that this is altogether lacking here, nor am I suggesting that the intention here is for vagueness. But I do sense from the comments, that the writer is seeking an understanding of his words as opposed to the thread perhaps necessary for this understanding.

What is the three-tier meaning inferred? This makes a mental shift for the reader. For me, poetry is not a connecting of dots or ethereal thought, it is the embodiment of essence that others seek to feel and understand. It is this essence, the aforementioned thread, which holds ideas together -- varied as they may be. Perhaps my not finding “THE” is the missing thread.

Others undoubtedly will have a different understanding of the process and poetry. This I wholeheartedly respect and appreciate too.

Thanks again, Ajey. You may have succeeded with density, a kind of opaqueness. :-)

Opaque said...

@Judith - Wow, that's a in-depth examination there. Umm, while I mentioned three different meanings, I mean, the song carries 3 different meanings with justification within the song.

Yes, there can be more interpretations but they might not be the one I intend to imply via my words.

This song falls into the album "THE". So, you can click on the label "album THE" which shall show you the songs that fall under the same album. While you read it, you might be able to draw a connection.

Thanks a lot for reading each line so deeply!!! It means a lot to me.

Judith Ellis said...

Would you like to share with us your meaning? I would like to hear it. By the way, I understood your implication that there are "3 different meaning within the song." I, for one, would like to know what they are. Again, thanks.

Opaque said...

@Judith - I apologise. But, I shall not do that.

Judith Ellis said...

No worries, mate. :-) Best.

Opaque said...

@Judith - Thanks for understanding!!!

Linda S. Socha said...

Judith
This interpretive process is you present here is ...absolutely brilliant..... Your perceptiveness and analytical abililty are impeccable and straight to the heart of the matter...to me... I have to comment also on these lines


For me, poetry is not a connecting of dots or ethereal thought, it is the embodiment of essence that others seek to feel and understand. It is this essence, the aforementioned thread, which holds ideas together -- varied as they may be.

Stop by and comment on my quest for becoming more of a poet. I believe you have the right of it

Thanks to Bro for the avenue to the spiral road for today

Hugs
Linda

Opaque said...

@Linda - I totally agree!!!

Judith Ellis said...

"The poet laureate is an Aunt Sally, to be shied at by all the couplets of philistinism and ponce-bashing that the press like to indulge in. Yet poets are not naturally showmen. Poetry is by nature and convention a secret art. Poems are coded messages for your eyes only, left under pillows, behind whisky bottles, tied to roses, written in water."

This morning I found these words by AA Gill apropos for our discussion here. Have a super day, Ajey.

Judith Ellis said...

Linda - Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. They are much appreciated. I will stop by your blog for sure.

Ajey - I'm sure you know how I feel about your writing and the talented sensitive young man I believe you to be. Continued blessings...

Opaque said...

@Judith - Thanks for sharing this!!! You have a super week yourself!!!

Opaque said...

@Judith - Oh, thanks a lot!!! That means a lot to me!!!

Strawberry Girl said...

First of all I am blown away by this conversation, I too came to the conclusion of Meena that it was about faith. I have to re-read it to see where Judith is coming from, WOW, that is amazing.

Here are my thoughts

You start out with a fairly long introduction with the beat of the drum coming in lastly. Sort of suggestive of the thought process. The unknown ones could either be the artist who is singing or the writers of ancient times (voices from the dust). There is a reference to pagan rituals, crumbling shattered, from sin. The release of sins from sacrifice. Cyprian, a marter, hope in Christ (or as others have mentioned, hope in faith) yet we also have this as the last light, and night reigns, darkness, dispair. Is it that you are objected & rejected or "The Word?" (Meaning religion) In the end we find you alone...

This piece is so multilayered that it will take time to think through it some more. ;D

SG

Opaque said...

@Strawberry Girl - All I'll write here is you are on the right track of understanding this one.

As you finish reading the rest of the songs in this album, you shall find answers to your questions.

Thanks, you!!!