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MERCURY RISING LYRICS
"Building Rome" (1998)
1. Cathedral
2. Building Rome
3. The Occurrence of Tomorrow
4. A Narrow Door
5. Moment of Truth
6. Of Lesser Men
7. Renaissance
8. Think
1. Cathedral
Searching for signs in a season of hard times
In cathedrals they pray to a God far away from their soul
Towering to the sky catch the creators eye show him what we can do.
When in reality sincere apology and shame are overdue
Selfishness more than love reaching to God above .
On their knees, begging...begging Spare us please .
So much languid speculation of what is right
and what is wrong but is there really any question?
You had the answer all along
As God would show himself to me my conscience is my guide
And in his temples I would pray but in cathedrals I'll not hide
A matter of integrity to judge or not be judged it's all that
I can do to turn away
It's what we are not what we own..
A soul that stands alone often blinded by the order of the day .
Submissive hearts not cathedrals
2. Building Rome
Broken dreams and wasted time stain yesterday
From the aftermath we climb We found a way to beat the odds turn darkness
into light ascending from the fire again .
From winds of change and sacrifice scars we bear.
And even now we pay the price
Atonement is rare and never gained by bounty or the sword
Only through spirit and faith
And all that we accomplish so quickly we ignore
The only path worth walking is a path not walked before .
Only time will tell if renaissance is really worth the cost
But even if we fail the lessons learned will compensate the loss .
Those who dream must stand alone but can't you see we're building Rome .
In an age where craft is all
but lost to accelerated automation behold the sea of compromise we've crossed
delivered from the grip of it's temptation .
The building of a monument reflective of a time when a man's art was an open
testimony to his mind a statement of his honor and a sample of his soul
We build in search of ways to make it so .
Only time will tell if renaissance is really worth the cost
But even if we fail, the lessons learned will compensate the loss .
Those who dream must stand alone but can't you see we're building Rome .
Broken dreams and wasted time stain yesterday
From the aftermath we climb
We found a way to beat the odds turn darkness into light
Ascending from the fire again
3. The Occurrence of Tomorrow
The view within a child's eyes is none too cautious none too wise
Everything is what it seems
Believing I could live the dream I stood as
David in the street Goliath to defeat
But that day before the sun would set a lesson I would not forget I'd learn
Shown my insignificance somewhere somehow tables have been turned .
They had lied to me they could have set me free by speaking honestly .
Now God only knows what tomorrow brings
Best to set my sights on more important things
Deciphering life's song and of the truth I'll sing .
Calling them as I see As it occurs to me
Endless integration manifest destination not for me
Wrestling indecision throwing inhibitions to the sea .
Voices in the night that said I'd fail and still I might
But on that day myself I'll own a king who failure can't dethrone
I'll navigate this wasteland and find a place to make a stand .
I'll fight my Armageddon there when confidence consumes despair.
And on that judgement day I'll see the spoils that are due to me
For believing as a child would that if I tried I surely could succeed .
They had lied to me they could have set me free and told me honestly
The truth submerged beneath life's waterfall
As if it's mighty force could baptize sins away
But through the whirlpools and the foam
I see refracted glimpses of what I should be
Reflection so unclear, too quickly fade away .
Mightier still the pen than sword whose blade
is naught to the almighty written word
The consequences I'll afford .
Calling them as I see as it occurs to me
4. A Narrow Door
As winds of change begin to blow
At times when spirit's running low
For all you've done nothing to show
By holding on a little longer ....
We find the fire makes us stronger
And through it all we learn endurance is the key to our proficiency,
with faith the only way to survive another day .
If it's true that tribulation worketh patience,
then I should be a patient man but patient is not what I am
Now questioning the terms of my existence no anchor here to steady me .
Alone I face a raging sea
For everyone there's a specific point in time
where physical improvement changes to decline
Although I can't recall that moment it was long before today
and still I haven't said the things I need to say .
To turn from anger and temptation is just a distant memory
when confronted by reality
And Jonah like denying my salvation
I struggle with myself each day while precious hours slip away .
In an age of kings and drones there's no denying,
freedom is a narrow door which can't be promised anymore
Still destined to forever keep on trying
I crave tomorrow's rising sun another chapter just begun .
I know there is a reason for why this world is such
That an honest man gets taken and the wicked get so much
I know there is a reason for losses we acquire
And if the fire is what purifies I'll stand this trial by fire .
At times when spirit's running low.
For all you've done nothing to show.
Triumph is never letting go
5. Moment of Truth
It's odd how we see things so perfectly clear when the hour of death is near
No time for untangling the web that's weaved no time
for claiming you don't believe no time for now it's the moment of truth .
It's strange how we talk of the things that we'll do
but can't seem to follow through .
Waiting for a better day waiting for fortune to come our way waiting
no more at the moment of truth
The dream of achievement from twilight years with the setting sun disappears
Opportunity came and went yesterday and taken or not left a price to pay .
Let's take advantage of this day
Our moment's not so far away
A reconstruction of body soul
and mind in preparation for the day we leave this life behind
How we use this life of pain determines what we have to gain .
It's strange how we talk of the things that we'll do
but can't seem to follow through .
And all that we should have comes perfectly clear when the hour of death is near
No time for untangling the web that's weaved no time for claiming
you don't believe no time for now it's the moment of truth .
The dream of achievement from twilight years with the setting sun disappears
Opportunity came and went yesterday and taken or not left a price to pay
Let's take advantage of this day our moments not so far away
How we use this life of pain determines what we have to gain...
6. Of Lesser Men
Lesser men eventually will fall
But there are no alternatives for those who hear the call
What lesser men have failed to see I hope you realize and accompany me .
The fateful myth exhausts them everyday that no one cares
and nothing really matters anyway
What lesser men tend to believe I hope you'll realize and not be deceived .
Behind their empty lives are empty minds as well that lead them
into hell without a prayer
Just beyond their hopelessness a leap of faith is waiting for us there .
A lesser man who's only plan is misery loves company
Discontentment haunting every-day but for trusting souls
with lofty goals the promised land is plain to see it's just a leap of faith away .
A man without a purpose is a back against the wall
But a crosscut of the endless array that is this life tells...ALL! .
What lesser men tend to believe I hope you'll realize
and not be deceived I hope you'll realize and accompany me .
Behind their empty lives are empty minds as well that lead them
into hell without a prayer just beyond their hopelessness
A leap of faith is waiting for us there
7. Renaissance
How many times will I plead on bended knee before
I transcend to the one you would have me to be? .
Bless us now as we build anew
Grant us values to hold on to regardless of the evils that men do .
From perseverance purity shines through
In this brave new world there's no home sweet home,
and so we carry on building Rome .
Unto you we will make a joyful sound
Unto you our praises will abound
Unto you we combine both mind and heart
Understanding they can't survive apart
What it's worth to me... Eternity! .
How many times will I plead on bended knee before I transcend
to the one you would have me to be
In this brave new world there's no home sweet home and so we carry on building Rome
8. Think
Am I winning the war?
Are you winning the fight?
Is this winning?
And when this is won is it the end or beginning? .
In centuries past we've justified our fears.
But now the decades pass like years.
As technology and science suffocate taboos art and religion often lose .
Do I think for myself?
Are they thinking for me?
Are you thinking?
Am I rocking the boat or is it rocking me?
Are we sinking?
Are you listening to me?
Am I hearing you right?
Are they hearing?
Is time going by or is it the past disappearing? .
For every time we try to fightthe final war there always seems to be one more
For every sanction the name of human rights another lost soul dies tonight
For every cure there is a brand new disease.
Mother nature's not so easily appeased.
All the steps we make to keep ourselves alive amount to nothing
when the hour of death arrives .
Tell me the truth and I will know the truth .
Lies are stained with death
Tell me the truth and let me catch my breath .
Do I get what I want?
Do you want what you get?
Is it taken?
Do I know what I dream?
If I die do I know I'll awaken?
Do I die for the cause?
Does the cause live through me?
Am I dying?
Could a cure give me life or could life be the cure?
Are you trying? .
Racing to find the answers
Running to beat the hands of time.
Pushing forward fighting back.
Where's the finish line?
I need to catch my breath
In centuries past we've justified our fears.
But now the decades pass like years, as technology
and science suffocate taboos
Art and religion often lose .
Racing to find the answers, running to beat the hands of time
Pushing forward fighting back where's the finish line?
I need to catch my breath
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