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Night Circus part one

by Greg Segal

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1.
Introduction 02:03
2.
Droplets of rain on a windshield Shining like diamonds in the artificial light of a street lamp The way the streets look at night only minutes after rain The way the shadows fall during a summer sunset Sunset in an unknown place The twilight of a dream..... G.S., 6/15/76
3.
4.
5.
Audience 01:46
The ghosts of genocides past Scream their defiance at the world that stood and watched They do not die so easy The unjustly murdered scream for their revenge I hear them in my nightmares I see them in the street at dusk I feel their cold dead fingers on the back of my neck When the winter winds blow I taste their blood in my wine I smell the stench of their long dead shells Wafting down the winter wind And screaming..... Indians Christians Blacks Armenians Muslims Aztecs Jews All peoples Leaves of the same tree Do not die so easy And they watch NOW G.S., '83
6.
The Center 02:57
Here, in this place, Dream pasts and realities collide with the grey present And stare in wonder at the possibility of seismic future. Walls black with yesterday's visions Rooms rich with special, personal scents. Circles forming, Cycles repeating, In an endless confusion, Time through time, Past through present To past again. In one way I have found a center. In all ways I have found a riddle. Why I am and what this place is, I don't really know. And I'm still waiting. G.S., 6/3/80
7.
For Ann 07:15
The love that's strong in the wake of disaster Soon fades in the warm light of morning The beauty disappears and the mind clears Lines get harsh And people get ugly once more. I saw your face before what we thought would be oblivion. Futuristic, Apocalyptic, The background holds meaning. And as we waited for the final flash Ugly selfishness vanished and we loved each other, Clung close, waiting for the flash: But it never came. We drifted apart And you grew uglier, And I decayed from the inside out. We wandered with each other for a while, Aimlessly Roaming the morning city: grimy busy utterly doomed. Then we saw the doctors, you wouldn't tell me what was wrong neither would they; you seemed to hate me Why is my old friend here why are you foaming at the mouth and convulsing, him too The doctors glare at me they pull you both forcefully into the inner office door Never to return? Adrenaline surging I stumble swiftly down the plush gold carpet staircase thin walls As I walk along the city street, Trying to find my way home and thinking I remember it, I pass an office building another old friend of mine, A teacher (nice lady, fond memories) is working at. It seems like another hospital waiting room. I rest my elbows on the counter. She's glad to see me, but sniffling a lot and her eyes water. She's got some kind of bug that's going around. Says everyone else does too. G.S., 6/3/80
8.
He of the sea-rat's beard Eagle eye and scale claw Testimony of a farewell to men Anchors away boy, anchors away. Dark sea night and brine green tide Vampire running water's bride Carnival Ferris wheel lights the way, Lights the way. Her white dress wet with sea-tears shines, Blows pale and cotton in the moonlight; Running water bars the way, Shocks and convulses with cascade of change. Their love on dust of dead time dines, Grows long in shadows on floors of night. Fading by the light of day...white lite repulses... vanish into smoke And oblivion unknown Until the night returns With longing, and tears, And visions of a loved one, Far away. See the water run, Changing, Rearranging grains of sand, Never bringing in the tide. Her white dress wet with sea-tears shines, Blows pale and cotton after midnight; The sea-rat groans and shakes As cursed warmth flows from his eyes. The ocean winds blow cold And ripple time across the moonlit waves; These lost from times of old Are only new ones born in modern graves; A union killed by circumstance, The sea-rat and the sailor's daughter; Two vampires trapped on distant shores Share only tears And running water. G.S., '83
9.
In my mind I see Black sunsets Falling on the fields In my mind I see Eternities And dream cities of everlasting night. In my mind I see Scattered starfire Blazing distantly in the twilight sky. In my heart I feel The loneliness of death And the nights that lie beyond. In my mind I see Bright visions of darkness That dwells within my very soul Consuming darkness Inhabiting my origin, Devouring me whole. I feel as if I'm turning into everything I hate. I will not accept this monstrosity and take it as my fate. I'm getting what I always wanted, But the darkness is undaunted; I'm so busy fighting to keep my mind in one piece That what I once sought for comfort is no longer a release. I tried to believe I'd been making something out of nothing, Creating monsters out of thin air; But they continue to haunt me And flaunt me as a symbol of their power: "Once his own, now he is ours". Playing games within the context of time, They continue to program and re-arrange my mind, Until I've become the horrors I once dreamt of. They play with my destiny, Try to re-route the path I've chosen to take in life; I seek freedom from hatred, competition and strife, Incredible beauty and sanity and order. I live insecure, for I live on the border Between this world and the next In the land where every nightmare comes true. Watch well where you wander, for next time It may be you. In my mind I see black sunsets Falling on the fields; In my mind I see eternities And dream cities of everlasting night; In my mind I see scattered starfire Blazing distantly in the twilight sky; In my heart I feel the loneliness of death And the nights that lie beyond. G.S. 6/3/81
10.
Cold Sky 05:39
In urban chaos We hide in the shadows Wasted lives stretch behind us We hide in the streets Traveling sideshow The black hound watches From the carnival grounds As dusk falls The rabid and the lonely For what do we thirst Perhaps for the void We knew before birth Beneath the cold sky No trace of warmth left Wonder why Maybe it was never there Alleys of cold rest Newspaper bedsheets The insane and the outcasts Sleep where they can Beware of the lone ones For we are the deadly Unloved for too long We wait for our dance Show us your bad side We'll show you your graveside Show us your love And you might have a chance But beneath the cold sky No trace of warmth left Wonder why Maybe it was never there Joined forces and built our power Almost ten years time ago Roamed the land to find disciples Pulled from gutters, broken homes No one knows just where he came from Sent to lead this ragged band The carnival is just a cover A refuge for the legions of the damned Churchgoers praying Fill the indifference With meaningless insights Of word and sound Praying for something To make life worthwhile Praying for peace But no answer comes Still the world spirals Continues the pain Apathy rising Who cares why Out in the cold sky No trace of warmth left Wonder why Maybe it was never there G.S., '82
11.
Erebus 02:21
A rolling of tympanies From out of the darkness Flashes from the outer realms Reveal the prince of Erebus Royalty of the dark Silent night Lay claim to the rotting grandeur Born in the new day of timeless light Proof of ignorance Unnatural wastelands, unasked for but paid for In full, down the line Don't ask by who, it's been buried In the dark gray morning A bell sounds As the prince of Erebus is revealed Not as foe but as avenger A reminder of the days before A clown in a suit of darkness The darkness beyond the door He who has kept the score And keeps a lone vigil on a silent midnight hill Waiting. G.S., '83
12.
I hold the world for ransom Within my brain lies great cataclysm For universes lie hidden in the brain cells And a single mind could burn this universe out. I hear your wretched minds screaming non-stop And if you don't shut up then the bombs will drop Look me in the eyes As my mind sets the world on fire Burning in my heart is an everlasting funeral pyre Your ignorance and hatred towards me just feed the flames You can't hurt me anymore, not one of you, I know your games Call me a freak Call me a liar And I will laugh when your world is on fire. I hold the world for ransom- leave me alone or die I hold the world for ransom- leave me alone I cry I hold the world for ransom- leave me alone or die I hold the world for ransom. G.S., 8/15/81

about

This is really Disc One, as in the first disc of a double album, and not to be confused with the 1 & 2 sections of the actual song Night Circus, which are on Disc Two.
gregsegal.bandcamp.com/album/night-circus-part-two
The confusion will eventually be resolved by combining both, but for now.....

Night Circus is a concept album about the end of civilization being brought about by angry spirits. They give a young man strong powers and manipulate him into using those to wipe out most of the world. He is then kept alive indefinitely to wander the earth and destroy any corrupt "infestations" of humanity that are deemed too poisonous to continue existing.

Night Circus contains some of my earliest work- including my first poem and second complete song. Subsequently there are things here, especially some of the lyrics, that really reflect the author's age. (These were written primarily between my 16th and 19th years.) It is my hope that Night Circus holds up, as a whole, much like some of my favorite low budget horror films might- short on refinement but long on imagination and atmosphere

credits

released March 27, 2014

Greg Segal: vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, effects, 4 and 8-string basses, organs (Roland, Hammond and internal), bowed device, drums and percussion.

Kenny Ryman: electric piano, loops, collected sounds, backing vocals (choir), patience.

M. Segal and Marilyn Moon rounded out the choir.

Written June 1980- August 1985.
Recorded May 1984- August 1985.
Recording Engineer and producer: Kenny Ryman
Mix engineered and produced by GS, June 1-4, 1987
Remastered 3/26/14 by GS

Dedication:
To Kenny Ryman, without whom this recording would not have been possible, and who added so much to it;
and to Vincent Crane, who was to the soul of rock music what Poe was to the soul of literature.

They will not be forgotten.

The lyrics and recording information given here may be of particular interest to anyone who managed to tape Night Circus off KXLU, where it was aired in its entirety.

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Greg Segal Portland, Oregon

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