Get all 3 Ryan McKay releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
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1. |
City Overture
02:58
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2. |
Voice Of The Dead Woman
02:00
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Death is still new to me
My girl, she still grieves for me
Life is but a flame on a string
Words I must speak to you
With my clothes still pressed and new
While your flame still burns
The city will fall and take a master
Shouting in sorrow
Blood after
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3. |
This Conqueror
03:00
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This conqueror, he is dangerous
Threatens to slay every one of us
East over west over west over east
No man is free behind him
So rise! Rise! Move your head from the skies
Or our children will die like animals
Led to the sacrifice, slipping in blood
Is that what you want?
This conqueror, beware of him
The hopeless will gladly unlatch to him
The waters of wealth will admit him by stealth
Men bent on revenge will praise him
So rise! Rise! Get your head from the skies
Or our future becomes unspeakable
Dying in shame, clutching his name
Is that what you want?
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4. |
Fame Is The Sword
03:33
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The fame of this man was a killer in the grass
Storming our shore with the sun as his back
Tall, unopposed
He was striking no blows
There was nothing for us to attack
An enemy he had in a frighting straw man
Waiting around the corner with a fist for a hand
But he was knocking him down in every town square
In the name of protecting our land
Oh! We sang his praises everywhere
So everyone would hear
So hearts would swell and tears would rise
And the bells were ringing
Oh! We sang his praises everywhere
Spent gold on forming lines
So many died
So many died…
The fame of this man was a masterful plan
Slaying his ghosts left no blood on his hands
We had nothing to fear
So, he sold us some fear
He know we would keep coming back
He sold us a foe in the emperor’s clothes
And with hate in our hearts we all took the oath
Imbibing his fame we clung to his name
Until there was nowhere to go
So go!
Oh! We sang his praises everywhere
So everyone would hear
So hearts would swell and tears would rise
And the bells were ringing
Oh! We sang his praises everywhere
Spent gold on forming lines
So many died
So many died…
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5. |
The Future Is A Mirror
02:40
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People of the nation
For your consideration
Allow me to persuade
We have no time to waste
So, lets get right down to this
If we have no chains
Then we won’t be chained
If we have no walls then who can vault?
If we show no force
Who could force upon the peaceful?
The future is a mirror
Staring back at what you’ve done
Fire your guns and you become the gun
Speak the truth and you become the truth
Bring their persistence
They’ll meet no resistance
They’ll draw those swords on shadows
See the fool in his uniform
Sweating as he roars
Arm yourself with reason
Survive any season
Suffer his flag and drum
With words we overcome
With words we overcome!
The future is a mirror
Staring back at what you’ve done
Fire your guns and you become the gun
Speak the truth and you become the truth
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6. |
Brood Of The Servile
04:57
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You foolish old men
I think you ought to be flogged for your cowardice
Your grandfathers died to be free
And now to save it you’re powerless
You think you are free by a law
Or some king in the stars?
Those who will live with a tyrant
Hoping to feed at his fire
See them sunken eyes of the brood of the servile
You foolish old men
You thought you could always quibble
Dehumanizing your foes
While your future erodes little by little
The city’s a hang dog face
That’s depending on..
Faith?
Those who will live with a tyrant
Hoping to feed at his fire
See them sunken eyes of the brood of the servile
You! Are you free? Or will you fight
Are you willing to die?
Your children will crawl and your city will fall
So fight.
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7. |
Do You Want To Live?
03:04
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Do you want to live?
All the shouting
The crowd is closing
Like water moves in water inward
Whirling, turning I see their cores unravel
And a holy man witnesses to no one
Do you want to live?
Just before the kings are murdered
Just before the empires crumble
The dead are said to come alive and speak
A disaster came and what was left
Was nothing.
Do you want to live?
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8. |
Turn To Your Gods
03:52
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Be not afraid
Our hearts will be somewhere else
Let him come
Just don’t buy what he sells
The stones, they can’t hurt you
If you cling to the strongest of bonds
Turn to your gods.
In the dark
You will be safe from harm
In this house
There’s no need to take up arms
The blade shall not blind you
Forget this world and all that it’s not
Turn to your gods.
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9. |
Flowers On The Temple
03:18
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Coiling and curling
A serpent of the faithful start to sing
Out of the stare of the sun
In the hush of the stars
Slowly pushing reason away
A young girl is leading
With flowers in her hand and fearful eyes
Prodded up the endless temple stairs
Into the night
“Do you want to live” they say
Our gods wanted it this way
Hundreds move forward
Crowding up the stairway to the stars
And her flowers have fallen
At the foot of a priest who stands with open arms
Slowing pushing reason away.
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10. |
Chains Of Liberty
02:59
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Deserters choke the bridge
Pushing ministers and kids
They won’t listen
They’re rolling with the smoke
From where the city center choked
Separate demons
The city is doomed
There’s no one to hold it
So give him the town
Before we destroy it
Freedom’s for fools
And fools must be mastered
We must be ruled by a king
We’re a disaster
The freedom fighters limp
Whirling like leaves in the din
They are fewer
Clinging to the bridge
Scattered eyes blackened
Thin.
Former hunters
The city is doomed
There’s no one to hold it
So give him the town
Before we destroy it
Freedom’s for fools
And fools must be mastered
We must be ruled by a king
We’re a disaster
I can see him!
Oh! I can see him!
Shining in the sun!
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11. |
Arrival
01:12
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12. |
Ashes
05:04
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They believed in destruction through the voice of the dead
The gathered up arms and fought themselves instead
And they prayed upon a sacrificial lamb
They cover their faces and they spawn on the stones
He tramples his shadow
He stands unopposed
And they rise to seat their master on a throne
See! The arm is rising!
Lifting up the visor!
..oh my god…
..there’s no one there at all…
He’s hollow!!!
They don’t see
They lie in the sunlight
Lie in the ashes of arrows
They don’t see or they won’t see
The girl with the flowers below
They don’t see they invent their oppressors
They wish to believe they are real
They wish to be free of their freedom
They wish to be free of the mirror
Cries of victory
Shouting, revelry
Watch the arms rise
Fools must be mastered
Chains will be liberty
Life is but a flame on a string
“…Look! It is on…
..the city is fallen…..”
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Ryan McKay Phoenix, Arizona
Ryan McKay is a singer/songwriter based in Phoenix, Arizona.
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