Magna of Illusion
| Artist | Blue Öyster Cult |
|---|---|
| Album | Imaginos |
| Released | July 1988 |
| Length | 5:53 |
| Writers | Sandy Pearlman Donald Roeser Albert Bouchard |
| Lead vocals | Donald Roeser |
Magna of Illusion is the seventh track from Blue Öyster Cult's eleventh studio album, Imaginos.
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
Cornwall, and the harbor
Where witches went mad more than once
And until this day, in dreams at least
The lighthouse at Lost Christabel
Squat and hugely tilts
Upon the strand where Granddad's house was built
And having stood the test of time
The starry gale, the bloody tide
Granddad's house, though gaped with hooks and filled with books
Could stand no more until a certain prophecy
Once read, now stood before the world, fulfilled
Now of these books in Granddad's keep
Some of them were new, but mostly they were old
And the oldest was a scroll, a prophecy that read
"When the riddle begins, the story will end"
August the First, 1892
And in the guise of destiny
Granddad quit Cornwall
"I'm the captain of a ship,
My ship is charmed and called Plutonia!"
Stories on land, storms at sea
'Tween 1892 and '93
When Granddad sailed for Mexico
Ships charmed and ordinary
Sailed the glidepath to the sun
And when the sun proved false, as it always does
Some of them would be lost
And some would sail back home
It was no star, but a magna of illusion
I mean by that, the mirror found
In the chamber of jade grown like a seed
Deep within the ground, the mirror found, by one man
So, on and off again, he sailed the Europe's rim
On and off, off and on, until his time had come
Through tears and smiles, the last domain
Through rods of broken crystal
On and off, and off again, until his time had come
Late to the story that had been, but early to the riddle not yet begun
August the First, 1893
The charmed ship Plutonia
Sailed like a ray into Cornwall
And none too soon it seems
That night, the Captain’s granddaughter
Would celebrate her birthday
"I've come a long way," said the Captain,
"From Lost Christabel this night,
Accompanied by my dog familiar,
To blast your rafters with my surprise!
Granddaughter, it's a foreign mirror
Taken from the jungle by crime!"
Stories on land, storms at sea
'Tween 1892 and ’93
When Granddad sailed for Mexico
When tables collapse and floors have filled
And the party’s over, it’s all over
Sea-dogs and rockers will dwell on doom
I've warped the stuff of ground, what seems to be is not
Behind closed eyes, realize your sight
Mine, granddaughter, proves a surprise
More light than sun,
More dark than night
And more a snare than lust
Trivia[edit | edit source]
TBA