Circular Song Lyrics: Where do they come from?
This series discusses the textual aspects of my work, be it some written text that inspired a song, some poetry that’s meant to go alongside, some words of wisdom that resonate with it.
In some related posts (see here, here and here), I've discussed the challenges I was faced when creating Circular Song, and about its lyrics (which I posted here). Among other things, I explained that this song's lyrics actually come from a poem I had written quite a while back, long before the music came to my mind. However, in the process of creating this song, the words of that poem got tweaked to a pretty far extent, and very much shuffled.
I thought it could be fun to have a look at what the original words of the poem were (and then listen to the track and check out what lyrics they have become :) Can you figure out all the references?).
One last note before we go: In its original form, this poem is virtually and visually mirroring lines in two languages, English and French, and each line in one language faces its counterpart in the other, as if there was some sort of conversation taking place, so to say. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the software I'm using to write this post, I can't have text in two mirroring columns here. So below I've displayed the lines in English first, and then those in French.
Anyway, here we go.
In The Mirror Mire-Moi
I look into the mirror and I see you
Within the silver haze and out in blue
A thousand broken pieces of time gone
Astray far off asunder wide away
Is that what we were told I call out loud
I thought if I could die I’d be reborn
A million broken shards of wishful days
Of peaceful nights
And wise long stays
I raise my hand and touch the wall
Your eyes on me as I come up and call
From all the treasured hours and dreadful
fights
From all the shame and blame I should be
proud
I raise up my hand and touch the glass
The silk and fabric and skin and canvas
The promised lands of eternal youth
I could reach if I could go through
Is this an angel or a ghost
Sound asleep the place I cherish most
In the silent hour and the deafened space
A thousand broken pieces of this face
For all this time I’ve been looking for me
I gaze into the mirror it’s you I see
Serait-ce un ange ou un démon
La clef secrète du temps perdu
Derrière les voiles les parois nues
Les terres promises l’arc de ce front
Je pensais renaître j’ai perdu ma voie
Je regarde cette eau je n’y trouve que toi
La jeunesse éternelle et les ailes pliées
Les longues heures
La langue oubliée
Jamais connue mais jamais égarée
Tes yeux sur moi me lever et parler
Des milliers d’échardes et d’éclisses
de vie
De toutes ces peurs et de tous ces
défis
Montera mon appel et ma main sur la toile
Voudrait la déchirer et toucher l’au-delà
Si j’élevais la voix si je hissais les voiles
Je ne m’en irais pas plus loin que cela
Dans le silence des heures glacées
Ce lieu cher à mon cœur à jamais effacé
Serait-ce un spectre ou un présage
Les millions d’éclats d’un étrange visage
Et de tout temps je me cherchais en vain
Au revers du monde dans la glace sans tain
Play Circular Song
On Spotify ->
On Deezer ->
On SoundCloud ->
EverNoize - 2017-2018
