thewasteland text

Tracklist

01
The Waste Land
02
Expectations
03
Unohdukseen Katoaa
04
1992
05
Far Beyond And Further
06
Wolves Among Men
07
Prelude For Emptieness
08
Drifting In The Universe

Album: The Waste Land

Record label: Reaper Entertainment Europe

Release date: January 11th, 2019

All music written by Harri Koskela
Except “The Waste Land” written by Harri Koskela & Anne Lill Rajala

All lyrics written by Anne Lill Rajala
Except “Far Beyond and Further” in which speech written by Andi Kravljaca, 

and a quotation from Simone De Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” p. 684 (translated and edited by H. M. Parshley, first published in France 1949, English version published in 1953) on “Expectations”.

Guest vocals on “Expectations”: Nele Messerschmidt as Maria

Guest vocals on “Far Beyond and Further”:Andi Kravljaca as The Aviator

Choirs: Jani Kekkonen, Harri Koskela, Heidi Koskela, Katri Koskela, Nina Koskela, Milja Laine, Leo Laine, Riku Laine, Emily Leone, Aapo Lindberg, Anna Paajanen, Anne Lill Rajala

Trolls of Waste Land on “Wolves Among Men”:

Anne Lill Rajala, Miikka Hujanen, Chrissy Turpeinen

Bowed lyre on “Drifting in the Universe”:Tero Kalliomäki

Guitar solo on “Far Beyond and Further”:Lasse Nyman

Acoustic guitar on tracks “Expectations” and “Prelude for Emptiness”:Timo Haikonen

Additional acoustic guitars and percussions: Harri Koskela


The Waste Land

This is where I hide my feelings,
thoughts & ideas I cannot bring in
with me to broad daylight

Words, the screams remaining hidden,
silenced secrets, all forbidden,
staying out of sight

Silenced now

Fear for judgement more than death
All statements stay with ears of deaf
A landfill of what
I swallowed, had to shut up about

On the edge I stand
of the waste land
amongst the rocks
and sand

(Refusal to speak, unable to breathe)

All the times that I’ve been hushed,
the times that the opponents rushed
to say “Keep silent, we don’t wanna hear”

It is oh so quiet now
The echoes occupy my mind
The whispers never left or seem to disappear

Words, the screams remaining hidden,
silenced secrets, all forbidden,
swallowed, slowly crawling back in sight

On the edge I stand
of the waste land
amongst the rocks
and sand

(Refusal to speak, unable to breathe)

 

Expectations

Odessa:

Indeed, it’s unfair
the way we are chained
to what is expected
from us

Maria:

Either deprived
from our lust
or not giving enough
Oh those fools

Lillian:

“The fact
that we are human beings
is infinitely more important
than all the peculiarities
that distinguish human beings
from one another”

Maria & Odessa:

Why is it so that we can’t be ourselves in here?
Remember to smile and nod
Sit and stay and try to please - “Good girl”
The key - the one we are thinking of...
Why is it so that we can’t be ourselves in here?
Remember to smile and nod
Thinking of that key, and each confirming…
We are making the prison real

Maria:

Often labelled, told what to do
Expectations forced upon you
Play according to
someone else’s rules or their tune

Odessa & Maria:

Either friend or foe in a duel
Maybe saint - perhaps a sinner too
Nymph washed up ashore
or simply a Madonna or a whore

 

Odessa, Maria & Choir:

We are what we choose to be
or what we were assigned to be
eventually what we agree
We are what we choose to be
We’re neither nor the Madonna or whore,
your room décor,
yet always excluded from your party

Choir & Lillian:

Anything but free
It is dangerous
indeed, if we
try to make it independently
Alternatively
running out from there, do you see?
Out there, without fear
as ourselves, simply as "me"

 

Unohdukseen Katoaa

Patrick & Choir:

Huhtikuun jälkeen
paremmaksi jälleen
muuttuu hetkeks ennen
kuin taas pimenee

Odessa & Lillian:

Lohduton on elon tie
Takerrunko unelmiini?
Huhtikuusta pois jos vie
Etsinkö tai toivonko liikaa?

Unohdukseen katoaa
Lohtu minua odottaa

Odessa:

Toivehissamme on kaipaus parempaan,
ja kipua, kaunaa, ei joutuis kohtaamaan

Lillian:

Onko totta tuo, voiko olla niin
et löytyis tie joka täältä pois vie?
Onko totta tuo, voiko olla niin
et eloon elokuun vois jäädä, unelmiin?

Patrick:

Hetken kestää tää elämä,
ja sekin synkkä, niin pimeä
Hei ihmispoloset hyppikää! Nyt on
riemun raikkahin aika!
- Hei me eletään!!!

Choir:

Kipua en jää kaipaamaan
Unohdukseen katoaa
Lohtu minua odottaa
Surusta vielä kohoan 

Patrick:

Unohduksen jälkeen
maailma taas jälleen
muistuttaa: Kohdata
joutuu paetun

Odessa & Lillian:
Kauaksi jää tämä maa
Mä liidän korkealle
Huolet huoletta unohtaa
Ja nousen korkeammalle
Uudestaan saan aloittaa
Ei mikään voi mua enää satuttaa

Choir:

Kipua en jää kaipaamaan
Unohdukseen katoaa
Lohtu minua odottaa
Surusta vielä kohoan

Lillian:
Lohtu minua odottaa
Surusta vielä kohoan

 

1992

Harri:

The memory,
the image I want to cling on
Yet the colours (are) fading,
turning into black and white

Emily:

One breath
One blink of an eye - merely
No need to rush
to say goodbye

Choir:

Born in 1992
Young but ready to redo
the same mistakes
as so many others
before and those to come

Anne Lill:

Far too young and much too familiar
These pauses forces to look into the mirror
Reflection, projection, or simply memorize
that vicious itching in the corner of my eye

Emily & Harri:

One breath
One blink of an eye - merely
No need to rush
There is time

Choir:

Born in 1992...

 

Far Beyond and Further

Far beyond the Earth
Far beyond and further

Odessa:

Our world
falling to pieces
We need to search for
a brand-new home

Lillian:

Making observations
from Virgo constellation

Odessa:

Find rescue
Escape this Earth blue
What else is there to do?
We consumed too much

Lillian:

Making observations
of Virgo constellation

Choir: Far beyond and further

Lillian:

What about this world under our feet,
the children running in the flowering field?
And what about the times
we woke up at sunrise
to see the ocean bathe in gold?

Odessa, Aviator & Choir:

We are searching another cradle
some light years away
not far away
in our Milky Way
We’re searching another cradle
some light years away
Let’s travel on
and on…
Reach for the stars

Lillian & Patrick:

It is so funny
we’re constantly running
to seek and destroy, to exploit
‘til there’s nothing
I find it suspicious
and rather ridiculous
how greed is prevailing
We should be waking up soon

Odessa, Aviator & Choir:

Searching another cradle
some light years away
and further away
beyond Milky Way
We’re searching another cradle
some light years away
Let’s travel on
and on..
Reach for the stars

The Aviator:

So, to my mind,
humanity has spent the last thousands of years
inventing culture, trying to understand where
the garden we were given came from.
And somehow the more we searched for that meaning,
the more we took away from that garden.
And that goes back to space travel, and the price of every launch,
as the destruction and pollution of our environment.
Which is why we have to understand the world we live in
if we're going to get out of this alive.
We are the universe, given consciousness, made manifest,
and trying to understand itself.
And when you're up there,
looking down on that vulnerable little planet,
its limited resources can be used for two things:
The advancement of humankind, or self-destruction.

 

Wolves Among Men

Patrick:

Questions of justice and empathy -
such delusions do not concern me

Patrick & Odessa:

Then who am I?
Yet Another rival
climbing up the ladder,
always aiming higher
Never mind the weak ones -
those that I have crushed
under my feet

Lillian:

For you we’re merely meat?

All:

Survival of the fittest
and those who can blend
Hunger always guiding
Wolves among men

We were born to die
Why not enjoy the ride?
Each Time breeding them
Wolves among men

The survival of the sickest
and those who can blend
They too got lost while hunting
We’re wolves among men

Wolf!

Patrick:

Amid the loudness of the herd
not a single cry is heard
False comfort of the group as nest
collecting prey for predators

 

 

Lillian:

Amid the loudness of that flock
I do not simply give a fuck
I am completely unimpressed
What separates prey from predators?

All:

Survival of the fittest
and those who blend
Hunger always guiding
Wolves among men

We were born to die
Let’s enjoy the ride
Each Time breeding them
Wolves among men

Survival of the sickest
and those who blend
They too got lost while hunting
We are wolves among men

Wolf!

Lillian & Patrick:

The danger entering our sight
Defining danger - what really counts?
Always beware of
the stranger in the night
The options given
are fight or flight

Odessa:

Beware, watch out, that’s the alpha!

Patrick:

I’m looking forward to the feast,
to devour that cattle. All my 42 teeth
yearning to bite that delicious meat
The cries? I do not care, for I must eat

 

Lillian:

Amid the loudness of the flock
I simply still don’t give a fuck
I am completely unimpressed
What separates prey from predators?

… and so the….

All:

Hunt’s beginning
Pack proceeding
Become eaten
or be one of them

Hunt beginning
Pack proceeding
Become eaten
or be one of them

Hunt beginning
Pack proceeding
Become eaten
or be one of them

 

Prelude For emptiness

(Instrumental)

Drifting in the Universe

Dancing in the wind
In the gentle storm

As snowflakes we fall
making pirouettes in the wind
Rest for a while on the ground
getting carried away with the wind
The storm, our form
changing until the silence calls

As feathers we fall
flowing through it all
Quietly drifting,
making pirouettes in the wind

Is there more than the dance?

Swirling as snowflakes in wind
The gentle storm
gracefully caught us within
We dance on
Drifting, so fragile, until we fall
and silent stars bring us the calm

Swirling as snowflakes in wind
The gentle storm
gracefully caught us within
We dance on
Drifting, so fragile, until we fall
Under silent stars we find the calm

Caught by the storm
We are drifting on in the wind
Winter cold, and all the snow
We dance on
Making pirouettes in wind

To face the uncertain, loneliness, the lite
unavoidable emptiness of our life,
To face the uncertain, loneliness, the lite
unavoidable emptiness of our life...

Making a turn left
‘battu’ on the jump
‘Changement de pieds’
Then an ‘Entrechat-trois’
A ‘grand rond de jambe
jeté’, ‘pas de valse’
And yet we are drifting
Not robust enough

Lay me down to sleep
Eternity at ease
Lay me down to sleep
The silent stars bring us the calm

Lay me down to sleep
Eternity at ease
Lay me down to sleep
Under silent stars we find the calm

Caught by the storm
We are drifting on in the wind
Winter cold, and all the snow
We dance on
Making pirouettes in wind

Lay me down to sleep
Eternity at ease
Lay me down to sleep
Hoping to find peace

Lay me down to sleep
Eternity at ease
Lay me down to sleep
Hope someday we will find peace

 

Tracklist

01
Waltz of Lillian
02
Road To Styx
03
Dark Skies
04
Revelation
05
The Order
06
New Horizon
07
The Grey Realms
08
Silence Falls

Album: The Grey Realms

Record label: NoiseArt Records

Release date: March 3rd, 2017

All music written by Harri Koskela.
Except: “Waltz of Lillian” music by Harri Koskela & Anne Lill Rajala.

All lyrics written by Anne Lill Rajala.
Except: “Dark Skies” lyrics by Anne Lill Rajala & Harri Koskela

Produced by Harri Koskela
Coproduced by Lost in Grey & Jarno Hänninen

Recorded in DStudio and Studio Brewery by Jarno Hänninen and Harri Koskela.

 

 

 

Cellos on tracks 1 and 8 by Aapo Romu.
Acoustic guitars by Tero Kalliomäki and Harri Koskela.

Mixed and mastered in DStudio, Klaukkala, Finland by Jarno Hänninen.

Band logo by Miika Haavisto.
Cover art & album graphic design by Miika Haavisto and Anne Lill Rajala.
Photography by Anne Lill Rajala.

Prologue - Lillian’s Journey

Waltz Of Lillian

Carnival of fallen and despaired
All the forgotten doomed to set sail
Innocence was lost so greed prevailed
Easy to get lost since truth is frail

Such a waste
all efforts made in vain
and nothing’s built to last
Such disgrace
to twist and turn and change
and now the die is cast
Could not believe, nor foresee
you would go drown in the Grey

Tired of lying
Constant fighting
The infection is the neglection
Rain kept falling
Once walked, now crawling
I remember our surrender
Made us shadows and ghosts
No one could save our souls

No  one could save our souls
No one could save our souls
Made us shadows and ghosts
No one could save our souls

What did you see
and what did you know?
What made you retreat
abandon it all?
Such fury and anger only few understand
but one cannot be saved
unless one grabs a helping hand
It seems hope was all gone

Tired of lying
Constant fighting
The neglection in our reflection
Rain kept falling
Once walked, now crawling
I remember our surrender

Playing the game, then change the rules
Gaining a fortune on fraud
Kill your darlings, change the tunes
- but do not wait for applause
Make mistakes and pay the dues
Go ahead - try to become God
How can one learn to know oneself
before learning how to fall?

Road To Styx

Lillian
Way too many days spent tired and paralyzed
as consumed by a parasite
I withered some more each day
The river’s only a stone’s throw away

Odessa
Slipping down, stand up, up again - and then you move on
Slipping down, stand up, up again - see how it goes on and on
Slipping down, stand up, up again - a constant fall down
Slipping down, stand up, up again, higher up and forward
Then - the river, relief

Odessa & Patrick
Wander for
(Mellow days and tunes in blues
abandon sense and foolish rules)
a hundred years or more
Seasons might change
but here you can find your place
on the shore

Lillian
Without knowing who's an ally
I’ve kissed the lips of a deceitful liar
Discontent in the outcomes of the trial
Ignorance is not innocence, I’d
stumble for ages in their denial
Comfort's hidden too well for me to find
Escaping a trap, I got a map
for a journey to Styx, I’ve already packed

Patrick
A path to the unknown
at last, in front: the shore
Finally you are here
ready to hop on board
Been through struggle and fight
You do have the right
to rest for as long as you need
Yet adventures await
so run, don’t be late
Come, climb to our pier

All
Saving a coin for the Ferryman
Paying a toll to the greedy hand
Charon and all his filthy clan
For our deeds we’re forever damned

For our deeds we are forever damned

1. Act - Illusions of Salvation

Dark Skies


Lillian
I raise my gaze as I greet you
From ashes risen, a world new
With eyes wide shut I finally see
my new playground, or so it seems

Odessa
We welcome you cheerfully
to our land of harmony

Choir

She has found the escape

All
Happiness can be found
where dark skies surround
where the water’s as black as can be
Close your eyes and see:
goats play the violin
revealing all their secrets to thee

Lillian
Why stay in a reality
surrounded by war and uncertainty?
I’d rather sail the skies of absurdity
Over misty mountains where northern winds blow
to the Fallen Angels Valley where I belong
to where the last drop of blood of the suffering earth
will fall

All

Happiness can be found
where dark skies surround
where the water’s as black as can be
Close your eyes and see:
goats play the violin
revealing all their secrets to thee

Look around, you have found
where dark skies surround
where the water’s as black as can be
Close your eyes and see:
goats play the violin
revealing all their secrets to thee

Patrick
Here, step into our realm, have a peek of what can be
Maybe you could have it all, live the dream eternally

All
A dwarf that’s writing a score (Writing a score)
Painting it to the skyshore (To the skyshore)
A monstrous orchestra with a colossal choir
Dancing to the notes that I write (Notes you write)
A world sized hall that will rise (It will rise)
Conductor on a cloud chair, screaming for
more and more

Revelation

(Sins, despair, illusions of salvation)

Odessa
We will wipe away
tears of yesterday
Death shall be no more
mourning nor
pain, they are all gone
Led astray
Lost in shades of Grey
Seated on a throne
- oh behold -
New Earth’s morning glow

Odessa and Choir
Into the Promised Land
with a rifle in your hand
you’re righteous, no remorse
Oh rejoice!
Just keep in mind one thing
- Obedience
Stay humble to your Queen and King

Patrick
The greedy shall drown in the well of life
Fiery lakes - swallow their pride
Trustworthy and true
given to you: a world new
Between beginning and end
the shore is our region, ours with no amends
without compassion, without a cure
without a light, without a will to endure

Narrator
With conviction we enter new realms of life
It always sounds so very marvellous
Almost too good to be true
But what we encounter
may just as well be a new lie

Odessa
The music of harpists,
flute players and trumpeters
None of the musicians
will ever be heard again
The light of the lantern
will never light your way
The darkness caresses, seduces
One day you must pay

Odessa and Choir
Into the Promised Land
with a rifle in your hand
You’re righteous, no remorse
Oh Rejoice!
Just keep in mind one thing
- Obedience
Stay humble to your Queen and King
With a rifle in your hand
You’re righteous, no remorse
Oh Rejoice!
Just keep in mind one thing
- Obedience
And bow to your Queen and King!

2. Act - Truth is Defined

The Order

Lillian
March on - forward
So much to conquer
Towards adventure
I will take what I am desiring
Blessed by a sunrise
Victory will become mine
New day unveiling
Fearless of what is to come
This time I won't be failing

Odessa
Halt!
That's an order
Take advice
from a comrade

So stop
and wait at least until
you hear
how the cat got killed
Listen very carefully:
It was his curiosity

Patrick
March on - forward
Far too frail to conquer
Towards a failure
No better than all the others
Once lost a sunrise
You’re not the one in power
Darkness unveiling

Lillian
(Hold on, just what the fuck is going on?)

I was told I'd have the skies
I’d feed on the rival’s demise
“Just enjoy the fabulous ride”
Oh, they were only lies
There are roads I'm meant to walk
make my way through enemy lines
I will take what should be mine
and keep marching on

Odessa
There are roads one should not walk
some mountains one cannot climb
doors that must not be opened
Just be satisfied

Choir

Do not take that last step, do not dare enter there

Lillian
Without an ally I make my way
Days passing by
No need to hide
Proceeding with pride

Lillian and Odessa
So needy and greedy and
won't give up without a fight
Committing a crime
in Paradise

Patrick and Odessa
Such betrayal

Odessa
There are roads one should not walk
some mountains one cannot climb
doors that must not be opened
Just be satisfied

Choir:
Do not take that last step, do not dare enter there

Halt! That’s an order! Halt! You’re just a soldier!

New Horizon

Lillian
Thought I’d find salvation
as I went to sleep
Woke up from my slumber
not prepared to view this scene

Patrick
Walking on the wasteland of what you used to be

Odessa
There are roads one should not walk

Odessa and Choir
On the horizon
Where worlds collide
Brighter than a diamond
Truth is defined

Lillian
Bewildered, here I stand in disbelief
Crossed the point of no return, to say the least
Neglected, restrained, defeated in fray, and deceived
Derogated and butchered for a final feast

On the horizon
Where worlds collide
Brighter than a diamond
Truth is defined

Deception in broad daylight
yet truth won’t set you free
My ship’s just slowly sinking
in the ocean deep

From Grey to great excession
(which) vanished in thin air
Worn out expectations
I crawl back into despair

All
House of treasures, house of pain
What you knew won’t remain the same
All smoke and mirrors, please succumb
The step you took can’t be undone
House of treasures, house of pain
What you knew won’t remain the same
Smoke and mirrors, now - succumb

On the horizon
Where worlds collide
Brighter than a diamond
Truth is defined

3. Act - All Hope Abandon

The Grey Realms

Choir
Feel the silence creep in, it infiltrates our minds
Feel the greyness sneak in, infecting our hearts

Patrick
Let me introduce myself, as I’m your only friend:
I’m the light, the King of Ghouls, the one your mind sent

Odessa
Greetings my child, let me introduce myself:
a voice of insanity
What happens in your head, stays in your head
Don’t trust the voice that’s telling you
to wake up from the dream

Lillian
I’m the one who lost her words
found my way to this world
It cast a shadow
hanging over me

It’s tearing me apart
this sickened hopeless me
Is there a cure for us?
I’m going under

Patrick
Fall asleep while you can still dream of better worlds

Odessa
Finally you see those miracles
you spent your years longing for
(Years longing for)

Choir
Feel the silence creep in, it infiltrates our minds
Feel the greyness sneak in, infecting our hearts

Narrator
Oh, sweet Lillian
Find your way back, redeemed
One cannot stay in a dream for all eternity
You must resist the night
You have to fight
Let the flame inside you burn
Don’t let it fade away

Lillian
I’m the one who lost the day
drowned and drifted away
There is a paradise
where I am stronger

The place I called my home
forgotten – for I know:
There is no cure for us
only destruction

Odessa
Walk through the gates where glory awaits
Beauty replacing rain and the Grey

Patrick
Ah, it is time - say goodbye
You will stay here in “Paradise”
Close your eyes
Leave behind the weakness, arise

 

Narrator
Once again a dead-end
yet another defeat
when you see, apprehend
that the Grey was already in Thee

Narrator and Lillian

You could not find beauty
nor justice in the daytime
Tried to escape, found nothing but new lies
Darkness that surrounds us
could become daylight
despite the rain falling from the sky

Wish I had found beauty
Rain keeps falling down from the sky
Darkness is surrounding
Rain keeps falling down from the sky

Choir
Homo homini lupus est
Lupus est homo homini

Patrick and Choir
“All hope abandon ye who enter here”
But hope was gone, as one can see
from mankind’s history

Odessa
No nightmare as awful as days in reality
No monster has means to compete in cruelty
Tragedy lies in actions, in our hands
Hell is on earth
Man’s the wolf of fellow man
And it goes on

Choir

Too late for regrets
Too late for games and bets
Too late to make amends
Here’s how the story ends

Odessa and Choir
You tried your best without success -
one cannot blame your need to rest
Ignorance can be a bless -
just staying safe in one’s own nest
The world is crumbling into parts
The cold infects the warmth of hearts
Man’s desire to hurt and crush
means: world’s ending in a rush
Good people are the ones to blame -
the inevitable is just delayed
The ones who offered help and aid -
they easily get lost in the Grey
As land and man is just a prey
all those who did not get and gain
gather for one last prayer

Narrator and Lillian
You could not find beauty
nor justice in the daytime
Tried to escape, found nothing but new lies
Darkness that surrounds us
could become daylight
despite the rain falling from the sky

Wish I had found beauty
Rain keeps falling down from the sky
Darkness is surrounding
Rain keeps falling down from the sky

Epilogue

Silence Falls

Curtains close, the play is over
Silence falls, conceals the applause

No villain and no hero gained a prize
Someone stays, refuses to leave
unsatisfied

Find another stage, an illusion
All is said and done
I cannot stay, so let me fly
I will fade away
in your arms

Already told this story of mine
Now here I stand uncertain
and undisguised

The entourage on stage this one last time
bow and give their farewells
leave this silent town

Find another stage, an illusion
All is said and done
I cannot stay, so let me fly
I will fade away
in your arms

 

Can’t you see
us bleeding
Abandoned and dying
The heartbeats
soon fading
We curl up in pain

High hopes
withered
Built for decaying
Our heartbeats
soon fading
Once strong, then gone

Now you see
us leaving
Fallen ones fleeing
The heartbeats
soon fading
We’re singing goodbye

Our hopes
withered
Farewell our darlings
Our heartbeats
soon fading
Silence will fall

Vibe

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