serai

Been buying a lot of CDs lately. The last couple of days I've been happily reveling in the soundtrack from the film version of Hair, which contains some truly awesome arrangements and performances of these lovely songs. Yay for the crazed hippie sweetness! (Plus the babes. Many hot boys in this one.)

Here are the lyrics to a gorgeous, sad, furious, operatic hymn/anthem/dirge for our world. Hearing this song sung by these intensely talented singers never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

The Flesh Failures / Let the Sunshine In
by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot

We starve-look at one another
Short of breath
Walking proudly in our winter coats
Wearing smells from laboratories
Facing a dying nation
Of moving paper fantasy
Listening for the new told lies
With supreme visions of lonely tunes

Somewhere
Inside something there is a rush of
Greatness
Who knows what stands in front of
Our lives
I fashion my future on films in space
Silence
Tells me secretly
Everything
Everything

Manchester, England, England
Manchester, England, England
(Eyes look your last)
Across the Atlantic Sea
(Arms take your last embrace)
And I'm a genius, genius
(And lips oh you the doors of breath)
I believe in God
(Seal with a righteous kiss)
And I believe that God believes in Claude
(Seal with a righteous kiss)
That's me, that's me, that's me
(The rest is silence)
(The rest is silence)
(The rest is silence)

Singing
Our space songs on a spider web sitar
Life is around you and in you
Answer for Timothy Leary, dearie

Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine in
The sunshine in
Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine in
The sunshine in
Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine in
The sun shine in...

Oh, that line "Silence tells me secretly, everything", and the image of our world populated by people so cut-off from each other, cold and alone yet still convincing themselves they are happy. Gods, I'm getting a lump in my throat just hearing it in my head. If you've never heard this song, please find/download a copy. It's just glorious, and always fills me with a swell of beauty/love/righteous wrath. Talk about angsty!!

(I recommend the one from the film because the arrangement and vocal style is larger and more powerful than in the original.)