Repeat the Days

by Atlas Fret

Repeat the Days cover art
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Songs Inspired by World History

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released 03 March 2007
Songs written by Jeff Mettee and J. James Gardner except where noted

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Track Name: I'm History
This is me and some day I’ll be history
No longer living flesh, committed to the page
I walk down city streets covered in antiquity
Looking at the buildings, guessing at their age

If I could I’d steal a moment
Find a place to hide it away
And when I could I’d spread it all out
Jump in, repeat the days

Some homes are castles, others are just servant’s shacks
Some lead a privileged life carried on the backs
Of common people dying in obscurity
They set the stage for you and me

Please speak kindly around their faded memories
Heroes and villains filling up a page
Dusty volumes, the stories washing over me
In my time I’ll join them some day
Track Name: Red Shoes
Do you feel like a captive?
No longer in charge of the way you’re actin’
Do you hear footsteps down the hall?
Sleeping with one eye open
No succession laws to make it clear
You soon could disappear

They’re dangerous -- red shoes of high status

Not in charge of your timetable
Don’t take the advice that Cain gave Abel
Get out, get out while you can
Thinking a lot about Constantine
If he were here, would he scream?
You got it all wrong

They’re dangerous -- red shoes of high status

Remember the tale of Andronicus
He was a broken reed killed with lust
And 28 more fell
Do you feel like a captive?
No longer in charge of the way you’re acting
Do you hear footsteps down the hall?

They’re dangerous -- red shoes of high status
What’s wrong with us, those red shoes of high status?
So dangerous, red shoes of high status
What’s wrong with us, red shoes of high status?
Track Name: Hammurabi's Code
All rise! Order!

Judge: First allow me to introduce myself
My name is Judge Lex Talionis
Some people call me Judge Dread
Also known as Judge Stele Eyes, Judge Babylon, Judge Throw-Him-In-The-Tigris
Remember, without the rule of law, there is no civilization in the nation!
Rude Boy Number One!

Rude Boy #1: Yes sir!

Judge: You have been charged with knocking out the teeth of your friend during a drunken brawl. How do you plead?

Rude Boy #1: Not guilty, sir

Judge: Nevertheless, I sentence you according to Hammurabi’s Law Number 200: Your teeth shall be knocked out!

Rude Boy #1: Noooo!

Judge: Take him away!

Rude Boy Number Two!

Rude Boy #2: Present!

Judge: You have been accused of stealing your neighbor’s shadoof. Guilty or not guilty?

Rude Boy #2: Not guilty, sir.

Judge: I believe your neighbor. According to Hammurabi’s Law Number 260, you must pay 300 dollars.

Rude Boy #2: I can’t afford that, I don’t even have a shekel…

Judge: Silence! Take him away!

Rude Boy Number Three!

Rude Boy #3: Yes sir!

Judge: You have been charged with striking your father. How do you plead?

Rude Boy #3: He hit me first, sir.

Judge: Hush up! According to Hammurabi’s Law Number 195, your hand shall be chopped off!

Rude Boy #3: Oaooahohah!

Judge: Take him away!
This court is adjourned.
Track Name: Messalina
What a mess
He’s on to you now
You confessed
But it’s too late somehow

Silius
Fell under your spell
Stupidus
Didn’t take it so well

And now here you are,
With nowhere to run,
Messalina . . .

But what a party you did throw!
With the leopard skin girls of Bacchus
And the wine--it did flow!
At the party you threw for Bacchus
A little skin you did show!
At the party you threw for Bacchus

What a mess
All the talk about you
And that contest
the divorce and wedding too

And all the rest
Of the lovers on the list
S.O.S.
You’re really in a fix

What a mess! Messalina!
What a mess, Messalina, what a mess!
Track Name: Taj Mahal
Build your temple to the sky, cus I loved you
There’s no point to ask why your gone so soon
You’ve taken nothing short of my world
Your face I can’t describe, no words will do
Second wife, my heart’s bride, how I loved you
You’ve taken nothing short of my world

Some times late at night
I see your face by candlelight
And I think you’ve come back to me

I’ll use all the strength in my bones to build your soul a home
I’ll spare no cost to cover up my loss
You’ve taken nothing short of my world
Marble arcs across the sky floating on a sea of blue
How I wish you were here to see what I’ve built for you
You’ve taken nothing short of my world
Track Name: India Pronunciation Guide
Karma
Karma Yoga
Dharma
Karma
Moksha
Bhagavad Gita
Ashoka
Chandragupta
Harappa
Magadha
Mohenjo-Daro
Mahabharata
Lakshmana
Shiva
Hanuman
Siddhartha Gautama
Rama
Sita
Ramayana
Krishna
Brahma
Shiva
Track Name: Buddha Dance Mix
I know I’ve told you to be still with yourself
And I’ve mentioned once or twice to escape the wheel of life
But sometimes I can’t stand it
The music takes up too much bandwidth in my brain
It’s the pulsing in my ear from my rhythmic beating heart
It’s the chanting in my fleeting soul that tears my focus apart
It’s the light in my chest that pulses with the beat of every living creature that makes me move my feet
The wheel of dharma spinning like a cosmic record
My flow, my rap, my line coming one lifetime at a time
If I’m dancing down the street, I really hope you kill me

Consider the journey of one particle of light
Beginning its existence in a mass of giant gas
Sailing through the darkness down the sloping waves of energy
Cascading with no purpose, no fate, no intended direction
By chance to land on my eye at a random moment devoid of revelation
Do not be saddened by a seemly pointless happenstance
For without it, I would be blind
Track Name: Lisbon 1755 (Earthquake Samba)
I walk through the streets of my city
God laid waste to this land
Or is it a force of nature we’ve yet to understand
Great minds of Europe will argue what brought this upon us
I say, what does it matter
It’s all hardship in the end, but then
I walk through city streets of my city on All Saints Day
Buildings rocked and glass shattered, everything was in disarray
Friendly fires in the hearth turned into conflagrations
Scorching the city that I love, the city I call my home
Lisbon, my Lisbon, what have we done?
I don’t think we deserve this
Don’t we sit, stand and kneel to pray almost every single day?
I don’t believe God will forget us
He just works in mysterious ways
Like tidal waves on the Tagus and fire in Lisbon’s streets
Track Name: Sulieman
I’m a shadow on the world
Can’t you feel my weight shake the earth?
A chain of titles follow me
They could bind any country
They could bind any country
Between the waters of Babylon
I’ll dip my sword into the sea
I control most everything
Could I dance down the moon?
I could dance down the moon

For I am Suleiman
Don’t you know my name?
For I am Suleiman
Don’t you know my name?

The German princes vex me
Don’t they fear me when I come?
I knock upon their city gates
Some day I’ll rule the world
Some day I’ll rule the world
Words of shocking beauty
Tumble from my pen
Vicious orders issue from my mouth
And I’ll win in the end
I win in the end
Track Name: Terracotta Soldier
Qin Shi Huang Di
Needs an army right away
Eternity
Is knocking at the gate

Not drafted, you were molded
Rank and file
Born a full grown warrior
In the empire’s favorite style

Terracotta Soldier
In an army of dreams
You’ve been fired in the kiln
Not as tough as you might seem

It’s an old familiar story
In the service of a king
Your only hope for glory
Is the terror of his reign

Ribbons of vermilion
And Dragon Veins
Is it the kingdom you’re defending
Or the boy king’s gold and jade?

Terracotta Soldier
In an army of dreams
You’ve been fired in the kiln
Not as tough as you might seem

You’re just a hollow warrior
With feet of clay
You’ve been buried for the ages
And you’ll never have a name

(You’re just a) Terra-Cotta Soldier
In a terror kind of world
Staying underground
Fighting evil forces
Track Name: China Pronunciation Guide
Yin-Yang
Dao
Wu Wei
Yin-Yang
Daodejing/Tao Te Ching
Xia
Shang
Zhou
Chung Kuo
(Yo!)
Ban Zhao
Liu Bang
Wang Mang
Sun Tzu
Laozi
Chang’an
Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius)
Xia
Shang
Zhou
Track Name: The Great Historical Bum
I'm just a lonesome traveler, The Great Historical Bum.
Highly educated from history I have come.
I built the Rock of Ages, 'twas in the Year of One
And that was about the biggest thing that man had ever done.

I worked in the Garden of Eden, that was the year of two,
Joined the apple pickers union, I always paid my due;
I'm the man that signed the contract to raise the rising sun,
And that was about the biggest thing that man had ever done.

I was straw boss on the Pyramids, the Tower of Babel, too;
I opened up the ocean let the migrant children through,
I fought a million battles and I never lost a one,
And that was about the biggest thing that man had ever done.

. . .

(by Woody Guthrie; Cromwell Music Inc./Ludlow Music Inc.)

Additional verses by J. Gardner:

I was a hoplite in a phalanx that fought the Persians back
Heavily outnumbered, we weathered the attack
I ran all the way from Marathon with the news that we had won
And that’s about the biggest thing that man has ever done

I built the Colosseum where the gladiators fought
I raced chariots in the Circus and I built the aqueducts
I paved the roads of empire that all lead straight to Rome
And that’s about the biggest thing that man has ever done
Track Name: Lean and Hungry (Cassius' Lament)
There he goes, he just pulled another stunt
He seized the day, and then he seized a month
Who do you think is gonna take the brunt
If we don’t act now?

He lets those Gauls into the Senate House
He even womanizes right in front of his spouse
Are we noble men or an ignoble mouse
If we don’t act now?

He’s acting like a king

It’s a dreadful night of evil signs
Thunder, lightning, wolves and lions
So veil your face and firm your minds
We must act now

He’s acting like a king
He’s ruling everything
But trouble is gonna reign
Trouble is gonna reign

At the Lupercal with its skins and whips
That tongue of his and those coward lips
The garland crown really seemed to fit
We must act now
Track Name: Clouds
I took one look at your letter that you wrote
And my heart spoke true it wanted you
The elegant strokes on the page were so beautiful
Right then and there that’s when I knew

If I could dwell among the clouds
I might have a chance with you

You could spend four hours in a blade of grass
A kind of looking glass, the palest green, such a subtle hue
The whole wide world could be crashing in, what a din
But it wouldn’t faze you, you know it’s true

If I could dwell among the clouds
I might have a chance with you

Chasing beauty has its price
Like giving up things to pay for rice
They’ve lost control or so I’m told
I never wanted to govern you

Chose your words so carefully for that note you left me
Nestled in the arm of the tree
By my gate I got home late and found it there
How it spoke to me

If I could dwell among the clouds
I might have a chance with you
Track Name: Genghis Khan
Somebody bring me my horses ‘cus I feel that I’ve been wronged
Don’t believe in second chances, wrong me once and you’ll find yourself gone
Everything’s piled up from the beginning
My father’s dead and my mother’s forlorn
And all this business about my brother, you got it wrong

See that village over there? I’m about to set it on fire
Watching all the locals run, you know it kind of makes me inspired
And everything’s piled up from the beginning
My father’s dead and my mother’s forlorn
And all this business about my brother, you got it wrong

I’m sure I’ll be remembered for my cruelty
Never mind what I did for my people
Horses and blood and trade and maybe love
That’s all that I was looking for
And everything’s piled up from the beginning
My father’s dead and my mother’s forlorn
And all this business about my brother, you got it wrong
Track Name: Rock with the Caveman
The old-time cave dweller lived in a cave
Here’s what he did when he wanted a rave:
He took a stick and he drew on the wall
Man, the fellow had himself a ball!

Rock with the caveman
Roll with the caveman
Shake with the caveman
Baby, make with the caveman
Shake with the caveman

Stalactite, stalagmite
Hold your baby very tight

. . .

Piltdown Poppa sings this song:
“Archaeology’s done me wrong
The British Museum’s got my head
Most unfortunate, ‘cause I ain’t dead!”

Rock with the caveman
Roll with the caveman
Shake with the caveman
Baby, make with the caveman
Shake with the caveman
C-A-V-E-M-A-N, Caveman!
(EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING OBO EMI GLENWOOD MUSIC CORPORATION)
Track Name: Hat and a Cheap Suit
Way back in history BCE
Lived the first cross dressing woman king
Sister, wife, stepmother, queen
Finest pharaoh on the scene
Husbands, fathers, nephews, kings
Jealous of the mannish queen

She offers wine to Amun-Ra
Spends all day at Isis’ Spa
Wears a plumed platform crown
A vulture hat and a full-length gown
Her mummy stolen, tomb destroyed
Made Cleopatra paranoid

So when you travel up the Nile
Take your time and stay awhile
Luxor, Karnak, ancient Thebes
Across the Valley of the Kings
See the terraced temple in the sand
Of the goddess-pharaoh-woman-man
Track Name: Crusades
Who were these men that made the long walk?
Through the wilds of Europe to the doorstep of God
Do you suppose they thought they were right?
A sense of burning justice to keep them warm at night

The stone has been turned, the lion unleashed
Your Crusades are an undying beast

Words at Clermont turned to action of men
Set out with greed to conquer Turk again
Burning the Rhine was part of their crime
All cruelties come in nursery rhymes

The stone has been turned, the lion unleashed
And your Crusades are an undying beast