Music: "Astronomy" by Blue Oyster Cult

2008-09-19T00:48:00.001-07:00

Ah, the first blog entry devoted to a song for which I have a particular affinity. These entries will be set up so that I'll discuss a little about what I like in the song, provide the lyrics, and jot down a few notes about what I can take from the song itself, being a writer who uses music to fuel his mad science.

The song itself was first released in 1974 and has been remade three times by the band since then, tweaking it a bit each time. Blue Oyster Cult, as you know, is a bit of a prog-rock, conceptual band with an image rooted in mystery and horror fiction. "Astronomy" has an underlying eerie feel, and the lyrics are a bit of a puzzle, but still evoke a kind of Lovecraftian world. There are references to real stars in the song, according to this entry on the always-reliable (heh!) Wikipedia.

The third version of the song has an introductory narration by Stephen King, and I'll include those lyrics as well here.

Astronomy - Blue Oyster Cult
(J. Bouchard, A. Bouchard, S. Pearlman)

(Stephen King): "'Imaginos,' performed by Blue Oyster Cult: A bedtime story for the children of the damned. From a dream world, paralleling our earth in time and space, the invisible ones have sent an agent who will dream the dream of history. With limitless power he becomes the greatest actor of the 19th century. Taking on many ingenious disguises, he places himself at pivotal junctures in history, continually altering its course and testing our ability to respond to the challenge of evil. His name is Imaginos."

The clock strikes twelve and moondrops burst
Out at you from their hiding place
Like acid and oil on a madman's face
His reason tends to fly away

Like lesser birds on the four winds
Like silver scrapes in May
Now the sands become a crust
And most of you have gone away

Come Susie dear, let's take a walk
Just out there upon the beach
I know you'll soon be married
And you want to know where the winds come from

Well it's never said at all
On the map that Carrie reads
Behind the clock back there you know
At the Four Winds Bar

Four doors at the Four Winds Bar
Two doors locked and windows barred
One door let to take you in
The other one just mirrors it

In hellish glare and inference
The other one's a duplicate
The queenly flux, eternal light
Or the light that never warms (repeat twice)

The clock strikes twelve and moondrops burst
Out at you from their hiding place
Miss Carrie nurse and Susie dear
Would find themselves at the Four Winds Bar

It's the nexus of the crisis
The origin of storms
Just the place to hopelessly
Encounter time and then came me

Call me Desdenova, eternal light
These gravely digs of mine
Will surely prove a sight
And don't forget my dog, fixed and consequent

Astronomy...a star (repeat indefinitely)

* I began writing a ghost story that used certain references to the song, such as the Four Winds Bar, certain phrases like "nexus of the crisis" and "then came me."

* I'm intrigued by the "map that Carrie reads."

* It's a spooky song, so I dig it.

The Zen Parlor

Music: "Astronomy" by Blue Oyster Cult