This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
A carved oak table,
Tells a tale
Of times when kings and queens sipped wine from goblets gold,
And the brave would lead their ladies from out of the room
to arbours cool.
A time of valour, and legends born
A time when honour meant much more to a man than life
And the days knew only strife to tell right from wrong
Through lance and sword.
Why, why can we never be sure till we die
Or have killed for an answer,
Why, why do we suffer each race to believe
That no race has been grander
It seems because through time and space
Though names may change each face retains the mask it wore.
A dusty table
Musty smells
Tarnished silver lies discarded upon the floor
Only feeble light descends through a film of grey
That scars the panes.
Gone the carving,
And those who left their mark,
Gone the kings and queens now only the rats hold sway
And the weak must die according to nature's law
As old as they.
Why, why can we never be sure till we die
Or have killed for an answer,
Why, why do we suffer each race to believe
That no race has been grander
It seems because through time and space
Though names may change each face retains the mask it wore.
Tells a tale
Of times when kings and queens sipped wine from goblets gold,
And the brave would lead their ladies from out of the room
to arbours cool.
A time of valour, and legends born
A time when honour meant much more to a man than life
And the days knew only strife to tell right from wrong
Through lance and sword.
Why, why can we never be sure till we die
Or have killed for an answer,
Why, why do we suffer each race to believe
That no race has been grander
It seems because through time and space
Though names may change each face retains the mask it wore.
A dusty table
Musty smells
Tarnished silver lies discarded upon the floor
Only feeble light descends through a film of grey
That scars the panes.
Gone the carving,
And those who left their mark,
Gone the kings and queens now only the rats hold sway
And the weak must die according to nature's law
As old as they.
Why, why can we never be sure till we die
Or have killed for an answer,
Why, why do we suffer each race to believe
That no race has been grander
It seems because through time and space
Though names may change each face retains the mask it wore.
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
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When We Were Young
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Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
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“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms.
“Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.
Sunglasses at Night
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In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.
Time Table is the second song from 1972's Foxtrot album.
From the far future of science-fiction we are transported to a far medieval past, and at the end of the song to sometime long after that. The present? The time when the Watcher visits? Is this an exploration of what happened to humanity? It is interesting to view the album in a continuous way, even if all the songs were not written by one person, or with continuity in mind.
A timetable or schedule is an organized list, usually set out in tabular form, providing information about a series of arranged events in particular, the time at which it is planned these events will take place. This, then, is a slight play on words. It is a literal table, made of Oak, and carved with the images that illustrate some of the more nobler conceptions associated with the medieval period - bravery, valour, honour, chivalry, etc. Kings and Queens are strong and in power as they sip wine from goblets made of gold. It also illustrates a time where right and wrong are determined by who wins battles with lances and swords.
Then we have the chorus, which asks us why we can never be sure until we die. Sure of what? Surety implies complete understanding of all answers. Are we being asked here if we are in a state of uncertainty until we die, and only then will we "know" the truth of things? By looking back on our life? Then we are told that some kill others to find their answers. Once we have killed, there is no turning back, and this is a different kind of certainty.
Then we are asked why people group together - very often around race and racial issues - and then proceed to think that they are superior to all other groups, thus most likely leading to the scenario above where right and wrong is determined through fighting and wars, and answers are sought by attempting to prove which group can outdo the other in battle.
The answer we are given is that "through time and space, though names may change each face retains the mask it wore." Through every age, and in every place on the planet, there have been roles that people have played. Some play the role of the Emperor and some of the Peasant, but these archetypes of behaviour, or Masks, have remained constant with us through it all. Though the names of people in governmental offices have changed, for instance, the precepts of that very office continue a pattern which repeats itself over and over, and can be traced back through all the other faces that have worn this mask...we seem to be caught up in events that are difficult to change...
So, at the end of the song we are shown what has happened to this once powerful group of Kings and Queens. The place is musty and the table itself dusty through neglect. The carving which illustrated these noble concepts and pictures of a great kingdom is gone along with those who made it. Like Darwinistic concepts of evolution, the weak must die, even as old and ancient as this kingdom might have been - weakened by it's notions of warfare and it's neglect of those very concepts that made it noble in the first place. Now, only the rats hold sway. These could be literal rats in this old room that holds the table, or it could be describing the people that neglected to uphold the concepts that kept the kingdom healthy and strong.
This brings to mind the poem by Pery Bysshe Shelley, "Ozymandias" OZYMANDIAS I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things, The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains: round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away
This song is just plain beautiful in the melodey. The lyrics aren't hidden and they actually mean so much, atleast to me. One I will listen to until the day I die.