The Fountain

Bonus Track By  Wahray and Soul

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 4:00
Listen to the Song:
[audio:WAS/65-TheFountain.mp3]
1995
Lyrics
I came upon you early last week
Sitting there, broken with your heart on your sleeve
So obsolete, so incomplete
Everyone ’round you having such a good time
You wanted to join ’em if you could just cross that line
God knows that you have tried
But where is that fountain you’ve been dreaming of?
You’ve been so close so many times, but never quite enough
Old, bad habits keep bringing you down

Surely, the time is near when once again you can see clear
The gloom is broke, its spirit gone
A fine young human you’ve become
I can see it, can you see it?
That battle is staged most every night
The nightmares, fears, and dreadful sights
I hope it is just a passing phase
Just can’t seem to shake this daze
I can feel it, can you feel it now?

I came upon you in a dream in my sleep
Shining there beautiful, the moment so complete
You showed me the fountain I’ve been dreaming of
The world was ours finally, God knows we deserve it

Surely, the time is near when once again you can see clear
The gloom is broke, its spirit gone
A fine young human you’ve become
I can feel it, can you feel it now?
Everyone’s eyes are opened for the first time
How can they, how can they be so blind?
It’s been so long, it’s been so long
Since you’ve been gone, since you’ve been gone
Since I’ve been gone

Composition © 1995 Ric Albano
Publication © 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Composed on February 3, 1995
Recorded February 1995
at Rathole Studios, Hazleton, PA
Mixed in 2003 & Mastered in 2011
at Cygnus Wave Studios

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Bass, Drums, Vocals

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: This is another song from the defunct “concept album” project. It is a song that is not finished, especially vocally, but one that I did feel needed to be included due to its sentiment and theme. The original recording was over seven minutes long, but I edited it down to four, eliminating long spans with just backing track.

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Rock

Bonus Track By  Wahray and Soul

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 6:54
Listen to the Song:
[audio:WAS/63-Rock.mp3]
1994
Lyrics
In the eye of the storm, a damn good time to rock
For groovin’ and movin’ and skimming more off the top
Eight years to march, what has changed here, not much
So far so good, take it as it comes and such

All for one, just for fun

Unlikely to believe her old man’s fairy tales
About monsters and dragons and 500-foot whales
The sweet little princess, she maps out her escape
Crawls along the dunes and beats down towards the gate

All for one, just for fun

Well, the season has changed, I guess it’s time to rock
Hearts and souls rearranged, I’ll glide down to the flock
Fourteen years of golden heights of hope, but what is hope?
Only in death will we ever learn to cope

All for one, just for fun

Composition © 1994, 1995 Ric Albano
Publication © 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Composed on April 7, 1994
Recorded April 1994 / March 1995
at Rathole Studios, Hazleton, PA
Mixed & Mastered in 2011
at Cygnus Wave Studios

Performers
Ric Albano
Piano, Keyboards, Electric Guitars, Bass, Drums, Vocals

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: This was to be the central song of a “concept” album I was working on in 1994/1995. The album was eventually abandoned with many songs left half-done, including this song, which had two distinct recordings in 1994 and 1995, finally fused together for this project in 2011.

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Try Again

Bonus Track By  Wahray and Soul

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 5:30
Listen to the Song:
[audio:WAS/60-TryAgain.mp3]
1992
Lyrics
I know that you’ve been waiting so long
For something good to come along
This song is about that fight
And I know that praying works in strange ways
It helps you through those hard days
When nothing in the world seems right

But when you’re down and about to give up that sight
Reach way down south for some fight and right to try again
Because you know, your reward someday will be great
Your quest must start on this date, relate and try again

Yes, I know you’ve been brought down once before
You’ve suffered through those many chores
And scores of rattlesnake bites
But just remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day
It took many years and many “nays”
And “yays” to do it right

And when start your construction on that dream
Pray the good Lord be on your team, you’re free to try again
The next step is to be persistent all the way
It makes resistance go away
That grey won’t be seen again

And never, ever, ever give up on hope
Your faith will help you to cope
An antidote to evil trends
Because you know that praying works in strange ways
It will help you through those hard days
It pays to try again

Composition © 1992, 1993 Ric Albano
Publication © 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Composed on March 4, 1992
Recorded March 1992 / November 1993
at Rathole Studios, Hazleton, PA
Mixed in 2003 & Mastered in 2011
at Cygnus Wave Studios

Performers
Ric Albano
Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitar, Piano, Keyboards, Drums, Vocals

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: The last song to be written and recorded before a very long hiatus, this song is almost very good, but lacks that extra punch to put it over the finish line. The acoustic intro and bass lines are very melodic, but the song proper seems to get stale and repetitive.

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Fear

Bonus Track By  Wahray and Soul

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 3:05
Listen to the Song:
[audio:WAS/59-Fear.mp3]
1992
Lyrics
Tuesday afternoon on the road, I thought of something extreme
Where will I be in a year from now if I don’t go and change something
I guess in a year from now when I hear this song I’ll know for sure
But one thing I must overcome, for sure
This deep, defeating fear…
Yes that’s the deadly thing that tears us all apart
It pulls us down and brutally stops us
From doing what we believe in our hearts
But someday soon something’s gotta give, this conflict just can’t stay
All I need is courage and guts and will to chase this fear away…

Don’t want it here no more
Go away, find another fish to lure

Far away, where it won’t be seen or heard from ever again
A swift clean break, forever destroyed, won’t compromise on “bend”
Forever expelled from down inside my soul, way down south
Way down there, deep down inside my soul…

Don’t want it here no more
Go away, find another fish to lure

Be excellent to each other!

Composition © 1992 Ric Albano
Publication © 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Composed on February 8, 1992
Recorded February 1992
at Rathole Studios, Hazleton, PA
Mixed in 2003 & Mastered in 2011
at Cygnus Wave Studios

Performers
Ric Albano
Harpsichord, Bass Guitar, Drums, Vocals
Sinclair Soul
Vocals

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: The very last song to use the old harpsichord, an instrument which pre-dated even the earliest songs that I wrote (I believe I purchased it when I was 16 in 1984). The song itself has a decent vibe due to the strong bass line, but some weaker vocals that kind of fall off late in the second verse, indicating that the song was never properly finished.

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Ric Is Dead, Long Live the Snake

Bonus Track By  Wahray and Soul

Written by Ric Albano Song Length: 6:17
Listen to the Song:
[audio:WAS/58-RicIsDeadLongLiveTheSnake.mp3]
1992
Lyrics
Now, there is noone upon the bridge
Everyone dwells in Crystal Ridge
This desert town they call their home
Adventure lost, content condoned
The fertile water lies across the strait
But they are too lazy to investigate

A hopeless scene, a surrender line
From “live it up” to “just get by”
In fifteen years they haven’t seen the sun
They’ve grown so cold, it’s what oppression has done

Is it over? Indeed, it certainly appears
The vast horizon is no match for their fears
But deep below the surface of the desert sand
There is a spark but someone has to dig it up
Dig it up! Dig it up!

Dig it all, dig it all, dig it all, dig it

Now, this is just a metaphor
It’s not real, in a sense there’s more
Deep below this person’s mind
There is something brewing, hope, din, cruel, an divine

Is it over? Indeed, it certainly appears
The vast horizon is no match for their fears
But deep below the surface of the desert sand
There is a spark but someone has to dig it up
Dig it up! Dig it up!

Dig it all, dig it all, dig it

You’re the one who tried to control mind
Spinning all your bad-blood jealousy into whine
Shaking off anything stable in life
Dealing 21 cards, defended by a bladeless knife, an unexisting wife

Sock-hop Charlie playing all his tunes for the dead
Making love to a picture of a hollow little twister in a broken bed
No more, no more

Now, tell me son, what have you learned
Do you believe it is your turn?
Will you bet it all one this one sweepstakes?
Ric is dead, long live the Snake
Yes, Ric is dead, long live the Snake

That was just his last mistake
Ric is dead, long live the Snake

Composition © 1992, 1993 Ric Albano
Publication © 2011 Cygnus Wave Music

Song Info
Produced & Engineered by Ric Albano
Composed on February 1, 1992
Recorded February 1992 / November 1993
at Rathole Studios, Hazleton, PA
Mixed in 2003 & Mastered in 2011
at Cygnus Wave Studios

Performers
Ric Albano
Electric Guitars, Bass Guitar, Drums, Vocals

Listener Guide
Grade

Analysis: This song is an extreme turning point on many levels, not the lest of which is the fact that it is the very last elctric-guitar driven song that I would write. It employs heavy use of metaphors lyrically, much of it based on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, with some real-life situations interspersed.

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