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Once you're on the wheel, you don't come off.

quote by Ian St. John
Added by Lucian Velea
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Let It Happen

Let it happen
Honey dont you live on the edge of your life
Let it happen
Honey dont you live on the edge of a sigh
Let it happen
Honey dont you live on the edge of a smile
Let it happen
Honey dont you live on the edge of your time
Baby all you got to do
Is let the rythm get to you
Baby all you got to do
Is let the rythm get to you
Let it happen
Honey take a ride on the wheel of life
Let it happen
Open up your heart to the wheel of life
Let it happen
You can put your trust to the wheel of life
Let it happen
Throw away your fear on the wheel of life
Baby all you got to do
Is let the rythm get to you
Baby all you got to do
Is let the rythm get to you
[interlude]
Let it happen
All you need is love on the wheel of life let it happen
All you need is love on the wheel of life
Let it happen
All you need is love on the wheel of life
Let it happen
All you need is love on the wheel of life
Baby all you got to do
Is let the rythm get to you
Baby all you got to do
Is let the rythm get to you
Let it happen
All you need is love on the wheel of life
Let it happen
All you need is love on the wheel of life
All you need is love on the wheel of life
All you need is love on the wheel of life
All you need is love on the wheel of life
All you need is love on the wheel of life
All you need is love on the wheel of life

song performed by Vangelis
Added by Lucian Velea
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Sing on, Spinning Wheel

(PaaDavE RaaTnamaa)

(With the clarion call given by Gandhiji many intellectuals and poets plunged into Indian freedom struggle. As part of strategy to discourage the use of foreign goods, Gandhiji encouraged Indians to wear the home spun cotton (Khadi) . This song was a popular song written by Kavikokila Duvvuri Rami Reddy, glorifying the khadi and spinning wheel)

Telugu original: KavikOkila Duvvuri Raami Reddy(1895-1947)
Telugu translation: Ch J Satyananda Kumar

poddu poDupoo chukka poDichindi raaTnamaa
gooLLalO pakshulu koosEnu raaTnamaa
aruNakiraNaalatO aaTalaaDEnoolu
tammikaaDalalOni tantulanTEnoolu
manciniiLLallOna maRagipoyyEnoolu
saaliiDupOgutO sarasamaaDEnoolu
gaalitaragalalOna tElipoyyEnoolu
vaDakavE raaTnamaa vajraaladoodi
naDapavE raaTnamaa nakshatraviidhi,

poddu poDupoo cukka poDicindi raaTnamaa
gooLLalO pakshulu koosEnu raaTnamaa

muddulolkE paaTa mutyaalapaaTa
paruvunilpEpaaTa bangaarupaaTa
mattumaapEpaaTa madhurampupaaTa
nidralEpE paaTa niddampu paaTa
kaDupu nimpEpaaTa kanikarapupaaTa
paaDavE raaTnamaa Baavi Baaratamu
aaDavEraaTnamaa aandhra naaTakamu

poddu poDupoo cukka poDicindi raaTnamaa
gooLLalO pakshulu koosEnu raaTnamaa

kaTTa guDDaalEka kaTakaTaa paDucu
kuDuva kooDoo lEka gODu gODanunu
daasya vaaraaSilO darigaana lEka
bedari bedarii coocu pirikipandalanu
aatmanindala tODa naDalu bElalanu
purikolpa SanKambu poorinci lEpi
tippavE raaTnamaa dESa cakrambu
vippavE raaTnamaa vijaya kEtanamu-

Translation:

morning star appeared, Oh spinning wheel
birds in nests chirped, Oh spinning wheel
the cotton thread that plays with the rays of dawn
the cotton thread which looks like the fiber of floral stem
the cotton thread that gets boiled in water
the cotton thread that caresses the spider’s web strand

[...] Read more

poem by Ch J Satyananda Kumar
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Sitting At The Wheel

I can hear the music playing
I can hear the word that youre saying
I can see the lovelife in your eyes
Whats the use in looking for an answer
I might find out
It could be a disaster
Hold on to your own time
Dont let go
Dont let go
Im sitting at the wheel
Watching the river roll roll on by
Sitting at the wheel
Dont let the river run dry
I can see your face on a piece of tomorrow
Ill hang my dream on a road I can follow
I gotta touch the warmth of your love
Not gonna take a chance a
Change of direction
Gonna keep on rolling till I find the connection
Hold on to your lifeline
Dont let
Dont let go
Sitting at the wheel
Watching the river roll roll on by
Sitting at the wheel
Dont let the river run dry
Im sitting at
Im sitting at the wheel
Like a voyeur standing at the edge of time
Looking for a reason
Thats got no rhyme
Love took a corner
Shot off for a mile
Rock on --- rocker
I can hear the music playing
I can hear the word that youre saying
I can see the lovelife in your eyes
Aint no use in looking for an answer
I might find out
It could be a disaster
Hold on to your own time
Dont let go
Dont let go
Im sitting at the wheel
Watching the river rock and roll on by
Sitting at the wheel
I am just sitting
Im just sitting at the wheel
Im just sitting at the wheel
Watching the river roll by

[...] Read more

song performed by Moody Blues
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Home, Wounded

Wheel me into the sunshine,
Wheel me into the shadow,
There must be leaves on the woodbine,
Is the king-cup crowned in the meadow?

Wheel me down to the meadow,
Down to the little river,
In sun or in shadow
I shall not dazzle or shiver,
I shall be happy anywhere,
Every breath of the morning air
Makes me throb and quiver.

Stay wherever you will,
By the mount or under the hill,
Or down by the little river:
Stay as long as you please,
Give me only a bud from the trees,
Or a blade of grass in morning dew,
Or a cloudy violet clearing to blue,
I could look on it for ever.

Wheel, wheel thro' the sunshine,
Wheel, wheel thro' the shadow;
There must be odours round the pine,
There must be balm of breathing kine.
Somewhere down in the meadow.
Must I choose? Then anchor me there
Beyond the beckoning poplars, where
The larch is snooding her flowery hair
With wreaths of morning shadow.

Among the thicket hazels of the brake
Perchance some nightingale doth shake
His feathers, and the air is full of song;
In those old days when I was young and strong,
He used to sing on yonder garden tree,
Beside the nursery.
Ah. I remember how I loved to wake,
And find him singing on the self-same bough
(I know it even now)
Where, since the flit of bat,
In ceaseless voice he sat,
Trying the spring night over, like a tune,
Beneath the vernal moon;
And while I listed long,

[...] Read more

poem by Sydney Thompson Dobell
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The Sorceress

Where are the bay-leaves, Thestylis, and the charms?
Fetch all; with fiery wool the caldron crown;
Let glamour win me back my false lord's heart!
Twelve days the wretch hath not come nigh to me,
Nor made enquiry if I die or live,
Nor clamoured (oh unkindness!) at my door.
Sure his swift fancy wanders otherwhere,
The slave of Aphrodite and of Love.
I'll off to Timagetus' wrestling-school
At dawn, that I may see him and denounce
His doings; but I'll charm him now with charms.
So shine out fair, O moon! To thee I sing
My soft low song: to thee and Hecate
The dweller in the shades, at whose approach
E'en the dogs quake, as on she moves through blood
And darkness and the barrows of the slain.
All hail, dread Hecate: companion me
Unto the end, and work me witcheries
Potent as Circe or Medea wrought,
Or Perimede of the golden hair!
Turn, magic wheel, draw homeward him I love.
First we ignite the grain. Nay, pile it on:
Where are thy wits flown, timorous Thestylis?
Shall I be flouted, I, by such as thou?
Pile, and still say, 'This pile is of his bones.'
Turn, magic wheel, draw homeward him I love.
Delphis racks me: I burn him in these bays.
As, flame-enkindled, they lift up their voice,
Blaze once, and not a trace is left behind:
So waste his flesh to powder in yon fire!
Turn, magic wheel, draw homeward him I love.
E'en as I melt, not uninspired, the wax,
May Mindian Delphis melt this hour with love:
And, swiftly as this brazen wheel whirls round,
May Aphrodite whirl him to my door.
Turn, magic wheel, draw homeward him I love.
Next burn the husks. Hell's adamantine floor
And aught that else stands firm can Artemis move.
Thestylis, the hounds bay up and down the town:
The goddess stands i' the crossroads: sound the gongs.
Turn, magic wheel, draw homeward him I love.
Hushed are the voices of the winds and seas;
But O not hushed the voice of my despair.
He burns my being up, who left me here
No wife, no maiden, in my misery.
Turn, magic wheel, draw homeward him I love.
Thrice I pour out; speak thrice, sweet mistress, thus:
'What face soe'er hangs o'er him be forgot
Clean as, in Dia, Theseus (legends say)
Forgat his Ariadne's locks of love.'

[...] Read more

poem by Theocritus
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Heart Like A Wheel

Calling up the promised land. johnny sevens coming over
The sea. hes taking your time. when you want to be free.
Holding out a helping hand. are you ready for a real
Career? will you be so cool. when its happening here?
It dont say nothing that I havent heard. if what I hear is
True. you wont keep the law with a broken word. so what
Are you going to do?
Heart like a wheel. turning away from anything thats real.
Heart like a wheel. changing in time. beating colder steel.
Pass the message around the world. the medium is in
Retreat. the power is here. and packing some heat.
Sell your soul to a holy war. set the captive free. we make
No promises anymore. but it isnt fooling me
Heart like a wheel. turning away from anything thats real.
Heart like a wheel. changing in time beating colder steel.
You cant keep the wheels turning anymore. with anger,
Blood and fear. or make any friends with an m16. when
You blast your way through here.
Heart like a wheel. turning away from anything thats real.
Heart like a wheel. changing in time beating colder steel.
Heart like a wheel. turning away from anything thats real.
Heart like a wheel. changing in time beating colder steel.
Heart like a wheel. turning away from anything thats real.
Heart like a wheel. driving the world is going to be a steal.

song performed by Human League
Added by Lucian Velea
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Asleep At The Wheel

Bloodhounds shall cruise rendezvous
Break curfew new trip ensues
You never know Bloodhounds just go
Pack backpack up for down the road
No change of clothes but change for tolls
Pack of No-Doz Rolos and Skoal
Old Milwaukee Jolt black coffee
Sugar Daddy Rand McNally
A pack of jacks those orange Tic-Tacs
Glen Miller tracks roll of Kodak
The phantom black stacked Pontiac
Hot rod dual quads and in the back
Is the beat keeper big ass speaker
Jumbo woofer rattle tweeter
Dial is turned and there it's stayin'
The next day where Stern is playin'
You got your Jesus on the dashbord but the devil's under my hood
You're taking it down legal I'm pullin' it up to no good
God is your co-pilot I let Satan ride shotgun
You pay a toll to get to heaven but on the road to hell there's none
You got your Jesus on the dashbord but the devil's under my hood
You're taking it down legal I'm pullin' it up to no good
God is your co-pilot I let Satan ride shotgun
You pay a toll to get to heaven but on the road to hell there's none
Get up you're asleep at the wheel
Get up you're asleep at the wheel
Get up you're asleep at the wheel

I-95 eight lanes wide
Midnight drive take a ride
Alongside east coast tide
Getting high so am I
Bloodshot red eyes from the fumes
I consume engine zoom then engine boom
Then enging glow erupt and blow
And overflow like volcano
So far to go can't turn back though
Cheap tobacco cup of black Joe
Fuelin' my body jumstartin' my soul
Set my mind on cruise control
You got your Jesus on the dashbord but the devil's under my hood
You're taking it down legal I'm pullin' it up to no good
God is your co-pilot I let Satan ride shotgun
You pay a toll to get to heaven but on the road to hell there's none
Get up you're asleep at the wheel
Get up you're asleep at the wheel
Get up you're asleep at the wheel

24-7 Truck Stop Plaza
Turn off headlights turn on hazards

[...] Read more

song performed by Bloodhound Gang from One Fierce Beer Coaster
Added by Lucian Velea
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Drivin Wheel

(t-bone burnett/billy swan)
Well, all I want is a love thats hot
Cant be sold, cant be bought
Yeah, love that dont try to be somethin its not
Well, all I need is a love thats real
None can rob and none can steal
Hey, love that moves like a drivin wheel
Well, all I want is drivin wheel
All I want is a drivin wheel
All round love my ideal
Well, all I want is love thats right
To hold onto with all my might
Hey, early in the mornin and late at night
Well, all I want is drivin wheel
All I want is a drivin wheel
Hey, all round love my ideal
All I want is a drivin wheel
All I want is a drivin wheel
Hey, all round love my ideal
All I want is a drivin wheel
All I want is a drivin wheel
Well, all round love my ideal

song performed by Emmylou Harris
Added by Lucian Velea
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The Marriage Of Geraint

The brave Geraint, a knight of Arthur's court,
A tributary prince of Devon, one
Of that great Order of the Table Round,
Had married Enid, Yniol's only child,
And loved her, as he loved the light of Heaven.
And as the light of Heaven varies, now
At sunrise, now at sunset, now by night
With moon and trembling stars, so loved Geraint
To make her beauty vary day by day,
In crimsons and in purples and in gems.
And Enid, but to please her husband's eye,
Who first had found and loved her in a state
Of broken fortunes, daily fronted him
In some fresh splendour; and the Queen herself,
Grateful to Prince Geraint for service done,
Loved her, and often with her own white hands
Arrayed and decked her, as the loveliest,
Next after her own self, in all the court.
And Enid loved the Queen, and with true heart
Adored her, as the stateliest and the best
And loveliest of all women upon earth.
And seeing them so tender and so close,
Long in their common love rejoiced Geraint.
But when a rumour rose about the Queen,
Touching her guilty love for Lancelot,
Though yet there lived no proof, nor yet was heard
The world's loud whisper breaking into storm,
Not less Geraint believed it; and there fell
A horror on him, lest his gentle wife,
Through that great tenderness for Guinevere,
Had suffered, or should suffer any taint
In nature: wherefore going to the King,
He made this pretext, that his princedom lay
Close on the borders of a territory,
Wherein were bandit earls, and caitiff knights,
Assassins, and all flyers from the hand
Of Justice, and whatever loathes a law:
And therefore, till the King himself should please
To cleanse this common sewer of all his realm,
He craved a fair permission to depart,
And there defend his marches; and the King
Mused for a little on his plea, but, last,
Allowing it, the Prince and Enid rode,
And fifty knights rode with them, to the shores
Of Severn, and they past to their own land;
Where, thinking, that if ever yet was wife
True to her lord, mine shall be so to me,
He compassed her with sweet observances
And worship, never leaving her, and grew
Forgetful of his promise to the King,

[...] Read more

poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Kéramos

Turn, turn, my wheel? Turn round and round
Without a pause, without a sound:
So spins the flying world away!
This clay, well mixed with marl and sand,
Follows the motion of my hand;
Far some must follow, and some command,
Though all are made of clay!

Thus sang the Potter at his task
Beneath the blossoming hawthorn-tree,
While o'er his features, like a mask,
The quilted sunshine and leaf-shade
Moved, as the boughs above him swayed,
And clothed him, till he seemed to be
A figure woven in tapestry,
So sumptuously was he arrayed
In that magnificent attire
Of sable tissue flaked with fire.
Like a magician he appeared,
A conjurer without book or beard;
And while he plied his magic art--
For it was magical to me--
I stood in silence and apart,
And wondered more and more to see
That shapeless, lifeless mass of clay
Rise up to meet the master's hand,
And now contract and now expand,
And even his slightest touch obey;
While ever in a thoughtful mood
He sang his ditty, and at times
Whistled a tune between the rhymes,
As a melodious interlude.

Turn, turn, my wheel! All things must change
To something new, to something strange;
Nothing that is can pause or stay;
The moon will wax, the moon will wane,
The mist and cloud will turn to rain,
The rain to mist and cloud again,
To-morrow be to-day.

Thus still the Potter sang, and still,
By some unconscious act of will,
The melody and even the words
Were intermingled with my thought
As bits of colored thread are caught
And woven into nests of birds.

[...] Read more

poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Spin The Wheel

When I was young I thought I stood
On solid ground well that proved wrong
Everything I know was true
Just blew up in my face
Isnt life wonderful?
I really didnt think so
I took my chips and cashed them in
And let the games begin
Cause its easy
Its prefectly easy
To spin that wheel round
til you turn it all upside down
Its easy
Its perfectly easy
To let that wheel spin
til the numbers come back right to you
Now spin that wheel
Theres nothing to lose
Spin that wheel
Its waiting for you
Now spin that wheel
Let the wheel decide
Spin that wheel
Go along for the ride
Spin the wheel
You lose!
When I was young and set to move
I started looking forward to
The fun that disappeared so soon
I wanted to check out
Isnt life wonderful?
I didnt used to think so
I took my chips and cashed them in
And started up again
Now its easy

song performed by Devo
Added by Lucian Velea
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Sun And Steel

You killed your first man at 13
Killer instinct, Animal supreme
By 16 you had learned to fight
The way of the warrior, you took it as your right
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Through earth and water, fire and wind
You came at last - nothing was the end
Make a cut by fire and stone
Take you and your blade and break you both in two
Break you both in two
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel - rolling on and on
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel - and it's rolling still

song performed by Iron Maiden
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It All Comes True

I stand here a black man I have no history
I was brought up in east chicago and I grew up on the streets
The chains around the playground were the chains around my heart
The brand upon my shoulder well it reminds you who you are
Chorus:
And it all comes true yes it all comes true
Like a wheel inside a wheel it turns on you
And you think, what have I done? what can I do?
What you believe about yourself
It all comes true
I was just a young girl my mother called me hon
My father was unhappy cause I should have been his son
They said, learn to be a waitress and learn to be a wife
And be thankful for a chance to live an ordinary life
Chorus:
And it all comes true yes it all comes true
Like a wheel inside a wheel it turns on you
And you think, what have I done? what can I do?
What you believe about yourself
It all comes true
My life is a contradiction of sorrow and desire
I drag my heart across the ash to throw it on the fire
Maybe theres a reason and could there be a plan
Or are we all just fools to think well understand
Chorus:
And it all comes true yes it all comes true
Like a wheel inside a wheel it turns on you
And you think, what have I done? what can I do?
What you believe about yourself
It all comes true
And it all comes true yes it all comes true
Like a wheel inside a wheel it turns on you
And you think, what have I done? what can I do?
What you believe about yourself
It all comes true

song performed by John Mellencamp
Added by Lucian Velea
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Idylls Of The King: Song From The Marriage Of Geraint

Turn, Fortune, turn thy wheel, and lower the proud;
Turn thy wild wheel thro' sunshine, storm, and cloud;
Thy wheel and thee we neither love nor hate.

Turn, Fortune, turn thy wheel with smile or frown;
With that wild wheel we go not up or down;
Our hoard is little, but our hearts are great.

Smile and we smile, the lords of many lands;
Frown and we smile, the lords of our own hands;
For man is man and master of his fate.

Turn, turn thy wheel above the staring crowd;
Thy wheel and thou are shadows in the cloud;
Thy wheel and thee we neither love nor hate.

poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Another Shoulder At The Wheel

(gary burr/john jarrard)
There are times when the winds blow every word I cry back again
And it gets hard, hard as I try to find the strength to even survive
But when Ive done all I can do
I can always turn to you
Another shoulder at the wheel to see me through
When the road is long, and the tears are real
When Im past the poin of giving up
Theres nothing like the feel of another shoulder at the wheel
In my path theres stones I could never roll away alone
There are times when I wake and my knees will tremble and shake
But theres someone who cares
And when I need you, youll be there
Another shoulder at the wheel to see me through
When the road is long, and the tears are real
When Im past the poin of giving up
Theres nothing like the feel of another shoulder at the wheel
Another shoulder at the wheel to see me through
When the road is long, and the tears are real
When Im past the poin of giving up
Theres nothing like the feel of another shoulder at the wheel
Oh another shoulder at the wheel

song performed by Jo Dee Messina
Added by Lucian Velea
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The Wheel And The Maypole

I've got the plow if you've got the furrow
I've got the rabbit if you've his burrow home
I've got the pen if you've got the paper
Time is but clay and I'll see you and the wheel turn
You and the wheel turn
chorus:
And if the pot won't hold our love
If the pot won't hold our love
If the pot won't hold our love
Then we'll dash it to the ground
And if the pot won't hold our love
If the pot won't hold our love
If the pot won't hold our love
We'll build one bigger all around
goes the wheel
I've got the seed if you've got the valley
I've got the big stick if you've Aunt Sally's head
I've got the time if you've got the motion
Time is but clay and I'll see you and the wheel turn
You and the wheel turn
chorus
chorus 2:
Maypole
Maypole
Maypole you've spun me round and knocked me off my axis mundi
Maypole
Maypole
Maypole the ties that bind you will unwind to free me one day
and everything decays
Yes, everything decays
Forest tumbles down to make the soil
Planets fall apart
Just to feed the stars and stuff their larders
And what made me think we're any better
and what made me think we'd last forever
was I so naive?
of course it all unweaves
chorus 2
Pyramids and palaces to dust
Empires crumble in
Wedding cake begins to must and molder
And what made me think we're any better
and what made me think we'd last forever
was I so naive?
failing to perceive
Maypole (round goes the wheel)
Maypole (round goes the wheel)
Maypole (the ties that bind you will unw

song performed by Xtc
Added by Lucian Velea
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The Wheel & The Maypole

Ive got the plow if youve got the furrow
Ive got the rabbit if youve his burrow home
Ive got the pen if youve got the paper
Time is but clay and Ill see you and the wheel turn
You and the wheel turn
Chorus:
And if the pot wont hold our love
If the pot wont hold our love
If the pot wont hold our love
Then well dash it to the ground
And if the pot wont hold our love
If the pot wont hold our love
If the pot wont hold our love
Well build one bigger all around
Goes the wheel
Ive got the seed if youve got the valley
Ive got the big stick if youve aunt sallys head
Ive got the time if youve got the motion
Time is but clay and Ill see you and the wheel turn
You and the wheel turn
Chorus
Chorus 2:
Maypole
Maypole
Maypole youve spun me round and knocked me off my axis mundi
Maypole
Maypole
Maypole the ties that bind you will unwind to free me one day
And everything decays
Yes, everything decays
Forest tumbles down to make the soil
Planets fall apart
Just to feed the stars and stuff their larders
And what made me think were any better
And what made me think wed last forever
Was I so naive?
Of course it all unweaves
Chorus 2
Pyramids and palaces to dust
Empires crumble in
Wedding cake begins to must and molder
And what made me think were any better
And what made me think wed last forever
Was I so naive?
Failing to perceive
Maypole (round goes the wheel)
Maypole (round goes the wheel)
Maypole (the ties that bind you will unwind to free me one day)
Maypole (if the pot wont hold our love)
Etc.

song performed by Xtc
Added by Lucian Velea
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Courtship of Miles Standish, The

I
MILES STANDISH

In the Old Colony days, in Plymouth the land of the Pilgrims
To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling,
Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather,
Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain.
Buried in thought he seemed, with his hands behind him, and pausing
Ever and anon to behold his glittering weapons of warfare,
Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber, --
Cutlass and corselet of steel, and his trusty sword of Damascus,
Curved at the point and inscribed with its mystical Arabic sentence,
While underneath, in a corner, were fowling-piece, musket, and matchlock.
Short of stature he was, but strongly built and athletic,
Broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, with muscles and sinews of iron;
Brown as a nut was his face, but his russet beard was already
Flaked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in November.
Near him was seated John Alden, his friend and household companion,
Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the window:
Fair-haired, azure-eyed, with delicate Saxon complexion,
Having the dew of his youth, and the beauty thereof, as the captives
Whom Saint Gregory saw, and exclaimed, "Not Angles, but Angels."
Youngest of all was he of the men who came in the Mayflower.

Suddenly breaking the silence, the diligent scribe interrupting,
Spake, in the pride of his heart, Miles Standish the Captain of Plymouth.
"Look at these arms," he said, "the war-like weapons that hang here
Burnished and bright and clean, as if for parade or inspection!
This is the sword of Damascus I fought with in Flanders; this breastplate,
Well I remember the day! once save my life in a skirmish;
Here in front you can see the very dint of the bullet
Fired point-blank at my heart by a Spanish arcabucero.
Had it not been of sheer steel, the forgotten bones of Miles Standish
Would at this moment be mould, in their grave in the Flemish morasses."
Thereupon answered John Alden, but looked not up from his writing:
"Truly the breath of the Lord hath slackened the speed of the bullet;
He in his mercy preserved you, to be our shield and our weapon!"
Still the Captain continued, unheeding the words of the stripling:
"See, how bright they are burnished, as if in an arsenal hanging;
That is because I have done it myself, and not left it to others.
Serve yourself, would you be well served, is an excellent adage;
So I take care of my arms, as you of your pens and your inkhorn.
Then, too, there are my soldiers, my great, invincible army,
Twelve men, all equipped, having each his rest and his matchlock,
Eighteen shillings a month, together with diet and pillage,
And, like Caesar, I know the name of each of my soldiers!"
This he said with a smile, that danced in his eyes, as the sunbeams
Dance on the waves of the sea, and vanish again in a moment.
Alden laughed as he wrote, and still the Captain continued:
"Look! you can see from this window my brazen howitzer planted

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poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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The Courtship of Miles Standish

I
MILES STANDISH

In the Old Colony days, in Plymouth the land of the Pilgrims
To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling,
Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather,
Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain.
Buried in thought he seemed, with his hands behind him, and pausing
Ever and anon to behold his glittering weapons of warfare,
Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber, --
Cutlass and corselet of steel, and his trusty sword of Damascus,
Curved at the point and inscribed with its mystical Arabic sentence,
While underneath, in a corner, were fowling-piece, musket, and matchlock.
Short of stature he was, but strongly built and athletic,
Broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, with muscles and sinews of iron;
Brown as a nut was his face, but his russet beard was already
Flaked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in November.
Near him was seated John Alden, his friend and household companion,
Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the window:
Fair-haired, azure-eyed, with delicate Saxon complexion,
Having the dew of his youth, and the beauty thereof, as the captives
Whom Saint Gregory saw, and exclaimed, "Not Angles, but Angels."
Youngest of all was he of the men who came in the Mayflower.

Suddenly breaking the silence, the diligent scribe interrupting,
Spake, in the pride of his heart, Miles Standish the Captain of Plymouth.
"Look at these arms," he said, "the war-like weapons that hang here
Burnished and bright and clean, as if for parade or inspection!
This is the sword of Damascus I fought with in Flanders; this breastplate,
Well I remember the day! once save my life in a skirmish;
Here in front you can see the very dint of the bullet
Fired point-blank at my heart by a Spanish arcabucero.
Had it not been of sheer steel, the forgotten bones of Miles Standish
Would at this moment be mould, in their grave in the Flemish morasses."
Thereupon answered John Alden, but looked not up from his writing:
"Truly the breath of the Lord hath slackened the speed of the bullet;
He in his mercy preserved you, to be our shield and our weapon!"
Still the Captain continued, unheeding the words of the stripling:
"See, how bright they are burnished, as if in an arsenal hanging;
That is because I have done it myself, and not left it to others.
Serve yourself, would you be well served, is an excellent adage;
So I take care of my arms, as you of your pens and your inkhorn.
Then, too, there are my soldiers, my great, invincible army,
Twelve men, all equipped, having each his rest and his matchlock,
Eighteen shillings a month, together with diet and pillage,
And, like Caesar, I know the name of each of my soldiers!"
This he said with a smile, that danced in his eyes, as the sunbeams
Dance on the waves of the sea, and vanish again in a moment.
Alden laughed as he wrote, and still the Captain continued:
"Look! you can see from this window my brazen howitzer planted

[...] Read more

poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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The Columbiad: Book VI

The Argument

British cruelty to American prisoners. Prison Ship. Retreat of Washington with the relics of his army, pursued by Howe. Washington recrossing the Delaware in the night, to surprise the British van, is opposed by uncommon obstacles. His success in this audacious enterprise lays the foundation of the American empire. A monument to be ere on the bank of the Delaware. Approach of Burgoyne, sailing up the St. Laurence with an army of Britons and various other nations. Indignant energy of the colonies, compared to that of Greece in opposing the invasion of Xerxes. Formation of an army of citizens, under the command of Gates. Review of the American and British armies, and of the savage tribes who join the British standard. Battle of Saratoga. Story of Lucinda. Second battle, and capture of Burgoyne and his army.

But of all tales that war's black annals hold,
The darkest, foulest still remains untold;
New modes of torture wait the shameful strife,
And Britain wantons in the waste of life.

Cold-blooded Cruelty, first fiend of hell,
Ah think no more with savage hordes to dwell;
Quit the Caribian tribes who eat their slain,
Fly that grim gang, the Inquisitors of Spain,
Boast not thy deeds in Moloch's shrines of old,
Leave Barbary's pirates to their blood-bought gold,
Let Holland steal her victims, force them o'er
To toils and death on Java's morbid shore;
Some cloak, some color all these crimes may plead;
Tis avarice, passion, blind religion's deed;
But Britons here, in this fraternal broil,
Grave, cool, deliberate in thy service toil.
Far from the nation's eye, whose nobler soul
Their wars would humanize, their pride control,
They lose the lessons that her laws impart,
And change the British for the brutal heart.
Fired by no passion, madden'd by no zeal,
No priest, no Plutus bids them not to feel;
Unpaid, gratuitous, on torture bent,
Their sport is death, their pastime to torment;
All other gods they scorn, but bow the knee,
And curb, well pleased, O Cruelty, to thee.

Come then, curst goddess, where thy votaries reign,
Inhale their incense from the land and main;
Come to Newyork, their conquering arms to greet,
Brood o'er their camp and breathe along their fleet;
The brother chiefs of Howe's illustrious name
Demand thy labors to complete their fame.
What shrieks of agony thy praises sound!
What grateless dungeons groan beneath the ground!
See the black Prison Ship's expanding womb
Impested thousands, quick and dead, entomb.
Barks after barks the captured seamen bear,
Transboard and lodge thy silent victims there;
A hundred scows, from all the neighboring shore,
Spread the dull sail and ply the constant oar,
Waft wrecks of armies from the well fought field,
And famisht garrisons who bravely yield;

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poem by Joel Barlow
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