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Strange Universe

Label

Kot’ai/Nine Records/20th Century Records

Release Date

1975

Credits

Guitar, Vocals – Frank Marino
Bass Guitar – Paul Harwood
Drums, Percussion – Jimmy Ayoub
Design [Jacket], Layout – Bob Lemm
Artwork [Front Cover] – Ivan Schwartz
Engineers – Billy Szawlowski, Ian Terry
Composer, Arranger – Frank Marino
Producer – Frank Marino

Lyrics

Tales Of The Spanish Warrior

He was proud, he was cool, he was nobody’s fool
And to take away a life was his only rule
He was tough, he was mean
He was a killing machine
And to show a little mercy
Wasn’t his kind of scene

Oh, couldn’t he see he’d sold his soul
Oh, I wish that he’d have known

He once stood in the glare of a blazing sun
And the feelin’ in his soul said the war was on
And like the angel of death he hovered
Over his enemy’s face
And struck a deadly blow
And felt no disgrace

Oh, didn’t he see where he was goin’
Oh, I wish he could’ve known

But the day had come around when he’d fight no more
And he lay dead on the ground all battered and torn
Ah, well a slip, he fell down
Against his will
And seeing this the bull
Closed in for the kill

And so a man who had fame
And a glorious name
He was laid to rest for failin’
At his warrior game
And it’s sad, because he had
His chance at life
And he ended up by dyin’
From his victims knife
And no more, will this man
Play a warrior game
Well he finally found out that warriors too
Get wet from rain
And he finally found that kings
Can end up down a drain
Well warrior man do ya feel
You’ve gone insane?
I said warrior man do ya feel
You’ve gone insane?
Well tell me warrior man, do you feel…
Warrior man do you feel…
I said warrior man do ya feel
You’ve gone insane?
Yeah!

The King Who Stole (…The Universe)

Well sittin’ down somewhere alone
was a king on a tinsel throne
Giant rubies and emeralds in his crown made of gold
Softly whispered secret meanings of their own

He was a great proud king they had said
In his robe of lilac and red
But the mysterious thing about this being who was a king
was the jewel studded crown on his head

For at one time these stones were not jewels
But planets made of many fools,
Who had sold him their sun
’cause they thought he was the one
Who had given them all of their rules
(You know who they thought he was…)

And when he had paid for their star
He would send it away very far
For now he did own it
And surely would not loan it
To fools who’d disowned it before

And as the worlds froze, the king’s eyes
Delighted at the sight of his prize,
For he saw they would make
A considerable take
And he then changed their shape and their size

And he mounted them all in his crown
For they were gems of rarity and renown
And this trick he would play
On a planet every day
Until there were no more to be found

And soon the king was alone (all alone)
He’d made the whole universe his own
With no worlds to compete
His goal now complete
He finally welcomed death to his throne

And did I hear the wind laugh
As the old king’s death came to pass
For this great proud king
who thought he owned everything
Had overlooked one world, alas…

Satisfy Your Soul

When people ask me what I do
I tell them all what I’m sayin to you
I’m playing rock’n’roll because it makes me feel good
and I know it makes ya feel good too!

Now hear me talking, ’cause I ain’t a fool
When something brings ya down don’t blow your cool
Keep playin’ rock and roll ’cause it’ll make ya feel good
Just remember that’s the golden rule

I said,
rock and roll, satisfy your soul!
It doesn’t matter where you are if that’s your goal
I know that you can do it, so please lemme give you a hand
‘cause what the world needs is more rock’n’roll bands
Yeah take it away mama!

Well that’s what it’s all about
It feels so good it can knock ya out
Well playin’ rock n roll, it’ll make ya feel good
enough to make ya jump n shout

An’ hey, I’ll play it all through the night
I know that ya dig it an’ it’s outta sight
I’m playing rock n roll because it makes ya feel good
And I know it makes me feel all right

I said
rock and roll, satisfy your soul!
It doesn’t matter who you are if that’s your goal
I know that you can do it, so please let us give you a hand
‘cause what the world needs is more rock’n’roll bands

(rpt and fade)

Land Of 1000 Nights

Well you…
You think I’m crazy, but that’s not true
Well it’s just that I’ve been
To a million hells to pay for my sins
Well hey! What I’m sayin’…
Is you better be right when you speak of my plight
Or I’ll be comin’ to take you back down with me
To the Land of a Thousand Nights!

If I’m just insane
Then treat me lightly and don’t complain
And if I seem uptight
And if it seems that my soul is black as night…
But if you’re wrong, you better be strong, yeah,
’cause I’ll be comin’ after you to take you back down
To the Land of a Thousand Nights

Cold, so cold I can’t pretend…
The man in the outfield, with the bonnet head…
Crystal clear auntie viola, wet blacknose Saint Bernard dog,
And there is Alpha-Omega, clearly put water on his tarnished tongue…
Crying moons, can you dig the sheep goddess?
She’s feeling red feathers from a salvation army cup…
And did you think I wasn’t going to blacken his room?
For surely a thousand nights couldn’t help but be
Draining his soul away…

Say then; “Sholyo Im Fi Zhamy – Sholyo Im Fi Zhay…”

Moonlight Lady

Moonlight Lady, mysterious lady
in your diamond studded gown that glittered star bright
Let me bathe once more in your silvery beauty
Let me hear again your cool laugh, so gay, so light

Well your eyes had touched so gently
on my foolish open heart
and then your lips smiled with loving patience
and golden fantasies tore my reality apart
and did we make love, wonderful love
or was I losin’ my mind?
’cause I woke up and you had slipped away
to another world, another time

Moonlight Lady, my beautiful lady
you were a flower blooming in the night
but now the wind in the meadow, sobs like a widow
and a moon ancient as sorrow is casting…
casting a fading light

I said a lonely moon as old as sorrow
is casting a fading light

(rpt ad lib and fade)

Dancing Lady

Well I see you’re dancin’
to the music of the band
and I know that maybe
you’ll begin to understand
Well, just how much I love you
I wanna be your lovin’ man
Well, dancing lady,
won’t you dance with me again?

Lady you know you’re dancin’s drivin’ me insane
because I know that when you go I can’t complain
Anyway, you danced a while and made me smile
and I’ve got to say,
little dancing lady you stole my heart away

Well dancing lady yeah!
You set my soul aflame
I dig the rhythm of your body, baby,
and the magic of your game
I don’t know if you hear me
but of this I’m quite sure
I’m gonna make love to ya baby
and then we’ll dance some more, yeah…

Lady I wanna hold ya in my arms awhile
but every time I try to make ya mine
you move away and smile
Can’t ya hear me cryin’?
I’m sick a tryin’ and getting no place
and I can’t go on livin without your dancin’ grace

All right I can dig it baby
Well get down!
Oh, get into it…

Hey lady, dancin’… lady!
(rpt)

Once Again

Well the mister and his lady sittin’ home one Friday night
Were yakkin’ ‘bout the fact that they’d been havin too many fights
And then the mister tells his lady
“Hey lady you know the fault must be with you!”
Well “Hey” says his baby “just who do ya think you’re talkin to?!”
And like every other time they argued like a couple of fools

Well about this time his lady started complainin’ ’bout the rent
The mister hadn’t paid it and he didn’t have a cent
Because the boys down at the pool hall had made him spend it like a fool
Well he cried “Now what about the money that you blew,
That I gave you for the kids to go to school?”
And sure enough, like every other time, they bickered like a couple of fools

Well the evenin’ changed to mornin’ and the mornin’ changed to day
And the day turned into night and then the night faded away
And on and on they fought in every silly little way
Until they had to rest their forces for an hour and a day!

“Hey lady!” he cried after a while
“You know it’s been a hundred years, well, since I’ve seen you smile!”
“Well now, what do you mean by THAT crack?!” she cried,
And he saw he’d made a boo-boo
“You know you really think that I am blind, but just remember I’m on to you!”
And they had started once again before they knew it
But that was nothing new

Well the years had gone, the times had changed
The couple had passed away
They’d walked along the path of life
But argued all the way
And they thought when life was over
All the people just go away
But then in front of the pearly gates
They stared into each other’s face!

“Hey!” cried the lady, “It’s so nice to see you here;
I didn’t think you’d make it and I’m amazed that you appeared!”
He said, “Now what do you mean by THAT crack?!”
And she saw she’d made a boo-boo
“You know you really thought that I was blind,
But just remember I’m on to you!”
And you know what happened then…
(Yeah you guessed it…)
Well they started once again… (oh yeah)
And they’ll be fightin’ ’til the end… of time,
Fightin ’til the end of time
(Oh they go on and on and on and on…It’s such a damn shame…)

Tryin’ Anyway

Well I’m angry, I’m tired, of wastin’ time
Well how long ’til you see I’m going to make you mine?
Well I’m burnin’ to make you feel what I say
But every time I try you just push me away

But Lord you know I’m tryin’ anyway!

Well hey, I’m sorry, you should’ve known
I met you and decided you would be my own
But even then you started playin’ your silly games
You make it so hard to love you it’s a cryin’ shame

But Lord I keep on tryin’ anyway!

Well baby don’t ya know that you’re drivin’ me insane?
You’re playin’ with my heart, and makin’ me fizzle out my brain
And in spite of all your games you know I’ll keep on tryin’ anyway!

Well can you dig what I just said?
I’m goin’ to get inside your head
I wanna tell you all about the secret lives I’ve led
Stop puttin’ me off because you know I’ll
Keep on tryin’ anyway!

Well hey, what I say don’t move you at all
You’re really bein’ stubborn and you’re havin’ a ball
Well I’m tired, I think I’ve said all I can say
It’s like talkin’ to a wall, I could be talkin’ all day
Ah, but I know you like my tryin’ anyway…

…I think I’ll just give up and play my guitar…

Dear Music

Goddamn! Are you puttin’ me on man?
Are you trying to make me wonder just who the hell I am?
Well goddamn! Why is it that you don’t understand?
Well I’m bloody sick and tired,
of being treated like a garbage can!

Well I know what you’re tryin’ to do,
but let me say this, hah!…
You ain’t dealin’ with a fool!
Ah, you’re so fuckin’ cool

Well may be, I’ve been a little hard on ya see,
But the burnin’ in my soul is drivin’ me out of my tree
Well I’m sorry, Music, if I caused you any pain
But I paid my dues, got nothin’ to lose and nothin’ to gain

Well I did not mean to be rude,
so let me conclude this
With a letter to you…

Dear Music,

It seems like years since I felt your soothing hand,
and I know I really shouldn’t say all this,
’cause they tell me I’m only imagining you went away.
But it’s hard you see. I remember your silver seas,
and satin mountains, and you know it really hurts,
because, I feel so alone. And I don’t think after the way
I’ve treated you sometimes that you want me no more,
but anyway Music, I have to keep on trying because
it’s the way that I know I’ve gotta live.
You gotta understand that being alone ain’t too cool,
and I always feel that loneliness,
when you don’t come to me… and so I get to feelin’…
that I gotta… live alone… love alone… and cry alone…
and sometimes… I feel I gotta die alone…

Strange Universe

Strange Universe,
may I kiss your breeze?
Your beautiful statement reaches
Beyond my lonely seas
Gently, morning shines
Its rays of emotional decree
As my God’s voice speaks to me
Of how it all must be

Silver beauty, shine on endlessly
Mysterious knowledge, eternally
Your music on a wave of light
Inspires visions, of a silvery night
Where trumpets sound your vast expanse
Where I have walked in a dreamlike trance
Brainchild of God, you peacefully lie
And await the glory of the Kingdom of the Most High

Forever may you sleep, peacefully…
Forever may you sleep… peacefully…
Forever may you sleep…

Peacefully…