Van der Graaf Generator (69,12 %)
The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other (62,84 %)
Released: 1970-02
Type: Studio
Type: Studio
Ranking:
Artist:
5
Year (1970):
40
Decade (1970's):
328
Overall:
1528
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1.
Darkness (11/11)
 07:28
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2.
Refugees
 06:23
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3.
White Hammer
 08:16
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4.
Whatever Would Robert Have Said?
06:07
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5.
Out of My Book
04:08
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6.
After the Flood
11:28
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Album length:
43:50
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Lyrics |
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1.
Darkness (11/11)
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Sunday night, twelve weeks before winter, the world is in a smoky haze. Suddenly there appears a rider in the East, brandishing flame. He rides on into the wintry darkness, and brandishes his flame like a spear; below him there races his ghost steed, draping the night in fear. His steed strains as he reaches out over the reins and hurls his flame at the West.. . the mountains dissolve in fire and he races through them, screaming: 'I ride an icy stallion, fire at each end and poison at the centre - you won't hear my words as I scream into the darkness: his plans are like a firebrand, his plans are like a firebrand!' Njal, beware! Heed the words which emanate from Hildiglum. |
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2.
Refugees
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North was somewhere years ago and cold: Ice locked the people's hearts and made them old. South was birth to pleasant lands, but dry: I walked the waters' depths and played my mind. East was dawn, coming alive in the golden sun: The winds came, gently, several heads became one In the summertime, though August people sneered; We were at peace, and we cheered. We walked alone, sometimes hand in hand, Between the thin lines marking sea and sand; Smiling very peacefully, We began to notice that we could be free, And we moved together to the West. West is where all days will someday end; Where the colours turn from grey to gold, And you can be with the friends. And light flakes the golden clouds above all; West is Mike and Susie, West is where I love. There we shall spend our final days of our lives; Tell the same old stories: yeah well, At least we tried. Into the West, smiles on our faces, we'll go; Oh, yes, and our apologies to those Who'll never really know the way. We're refugees, walking away from the life That we've known and loved; Nothing to do or say, nowhere to stay; Now we are alone. We're refugees, carrying all we own In brown bags, tied up with string; Nothing to think, it doesn't mean a thing, But we'll be happy on our own. West is Mike and Susie; West is where I love, West is refugees' home. |
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3.
White Hammer
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In the year 1486 the Malleus first appeared, Designed to kill all witchcraft and end the papal fears: Prescribing tortures to kill the Black Arts; And the Hammer struck hard. Malleus Maleficarum slaughtered and tortured All those under suspicion, as the Inquisistion ordered Burning black hearts and innocents alike, Killing the mad; Such was the power the Hammer had. Though Hexenhammer was intended to slay only evil, Fear and anger against magic overspilled: They also killed those of the White. So for two centuries and more they tried to slay Both the Black and the White Arts - But spirits override pain. For every one that the torture took, Two were hid secure, And so the craft, yes, it endured. Love and hate lived on in the face of fear, Hexenhammer's force died, And the real power became clear. White Hammer no more is beaten; Now it begins to beat, And the Grey, once oppressor, Now, at good hands, faces defeat. And the Black, too, shall bow down To the power above; Black hate beats Grey But surpreme is The White Hammer of Love. |
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4.
Whatever Would Robert Have Said?
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I am the suck of air you take That you've had many times before; I am the blow you try to fake, But which still throws you out the door; I am the air that fills your lungs, But leaves you emptier below; I am the void that you can't explain, But which is where you want to go. Flame sucks between the balls of steel; Nothing moves, the air itself congeals. Look at the flame if you want to, Hear the sharp crack of the fission, Smell the brief vapor of ozone, Feel static motion. I am the love you try to hide, But which all can understand; I am the hate you still deny, Though the blood is on your hands; I am the peace you're searching for, But you know you'll never find; I am the pain you can't endure, But which tingles in your mind. Flame sucks between the balls of steel; Nothing moves, the air itself congeals. Look at the flame if you want to, Hear the sharp crack of the fission, Smell the brief vapor of ozone, Feel static motion. I am the joy you really pay for, But which comes completely free; I am your god on the final day, For the truth is you and me |
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5.
Out of My Book
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We sat by ourselves, still looking for company; There could have been peace, but that eluded me - All I could think of was what was on my mind. You tried to be kind, But I blocked your feelings. Now, senses still reeling, you sit in your quiet room and cry. You tried to make me one, But I always hide when there's a glimpse of sun. Running along in sunlight meadows, Your eyes were never more than half-closed: Through fluttering lashes, you watched me watching you. I tried to be true To the way that you thought I ought to be But, in spite of all my efforts, I failed. I tried to make you see But your eyes are blind to all but the bad in me. What do you think I mean When I say that I need you? How am I supposed to seem When we hit another problem And the answers are all torn from my book? Our lives are on paths we just can't control; We can grow closer as we get old. Can you imagine us as we adjust? Can you imagine us Getting near eighty; We live more sedately, Still hoping the dreams will come true? We'll try to be secure. But I'm of uncertain mind And how can I be sure? How can I be sure? |
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6.
After the Flood
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Continuing the story, humanity stumbles - Gone is the glory, there's a far distant rumble. The clouds have gathered and exploded now: Axes shattered, there is no North or South. Far off, the ice is foundering slowly, The ice is turning to water, The ice is turning to water. The water rushes over all Cities crash in the mighty wave; The final man is very small, Plunging in for his final bathe. This is the ending of the beginning, This is the beginning of the end, Middle of the middle, mid-point, end and start: The first peak rises, forces the waves apart. Far off, the ice is now re-forming: Poles are fixed once more, Water's receding, like death-blood. And when the water falls again, All is dead and nobody lives. And then he said: 'Every step appears to be The unavoidable consequence of the preceding one, And in the end there beckons more and more clearly Total annihilation' This is the ending of the beginning, This is the beginning of the end, And when the water falls again, All is dead and nobody lives. |