"Suffering Machines" -- Inspired by Picasso (2nd Half)

[FuzzFace]

Part II

(Broke away from previous thread due to character limit):
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=8788.0


Scene 9: Before the song begins, Alex passes through the neighbourhood where he was the night before and realizes that it's really run down, with crime and prostitutes (he sees one of them being struck), he sees a homeless man laying on the ground, and then he encounters a Guernica mural. He is suddenly alone onstage with Guernica as a backdrop. The song begins, when singing about the world he is looking at the painting, but when singing about himself he is facing the audience, with his back to the painting.  Figures come out of the painting and move around him.


Guernica

My faceless nameless state of mind
between fastforward and rewind
across the table glares at me
mockingly he stares at me

and revels in my agony
With questions that are cutting me
When did I learn to tolerate
the very evil that I hate?

our murderous wars, the thirst for more
turned mankind to a desperate whore
reduced our love into a chore

Locked in cherished institutions
writing our own absolutions
safe within hallowed ground
a tree it falls, makes not a sound

Gathering collectively
To justify necessity
we mobbed and lynched simplicity

We happily stabbed this honest life
with our sharpened, cynical knife
Hearts are hard / we're still scarred
broken shards, child and wife

I say "we" but could it be
I wanted to change the world
But I let the world change me?

Song by Facemask93 and AK featuring Tony Jones:
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=8900.0

Commentary: The idea is that he emotionally got into a rut a long time ago, because he was distraught about the world and felt powerless to do anything about it. He gradually stopped caring, but surpressing his love ate him alive.





Scene 10: Alex goes into a bar and has this conversation over loud music.


The Absinthe Drinker

"This potent, herbal bitter taste
makes me feel awake
Lets me see inside myself
it melts away what's fake"

Do you like what you see
Do you gain harmony?
"I like to penetrate the pretence
All I want is to be free

"Green ferries in my mind
interact with good and bad
the full spectrum of mankind
lives and breathes inside"

If I let my demons
see the light of day
would they overtake me
or would they go away?

Song by Satchwood:
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=8916.msg119543;topicseen#new

Commentary: The Absinthe Drinker, the Young Girl Reading, and The Old Guitarist are a series of people who serve as muses or oracles, who unintentionally stimulate him to convert his energy into positive energy.





Scene 11: Walking on the beach, Alex encounters a girl and has this conversation.


Young Girl Reading

Have you found any answers?
Do you want to understand
where do we come from / where are we going
Are we pearls on a strand?

"There's always more than what we see
Just what is the way to know?
I want a wider lense
to know what seeds to sow"

Knowledge is power but
knowledge only goes so deep
we yeild to our feelings
when awake and when we sleep

"Are feelings not deceiving?
They exist outside of reason"
I believe it's with our reasons
that we cloud what's wrong and right

If you want to change the world
first satisfy the inner fight
learn to love all your sides
those in the day and those in the night.

Song by Redler and ACA:
In Progress





Scene 12: Alex encounters the same homeless man he saw earlier (in Scene 9), but sees him in a new light.


The Old Guitarist

You could be me
and would that make me you?
Had I been born in another time
would all that's old be new?

It was never meant to be this way
times they change / this time has been so blue
people see themselves in you
and in all the pain you've been through

If you went home where would that be?
"My home I carry with me
everything I have is a gift
the world is a bountiful tree"

If you could give the world one gift
then what would that gift be?
"I would give the world what it needs most:
the ability to see"

Need a man be blind to teach the world to see?
Need a man be chained in order to be free?
Is a life the price of living?  I can get down on one knee
If I do all I can, will I be all that I can be?

Song by Launched:  
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=8756.0





Self-Portrait

I wanted to draw a picture
of all that is behind these eyes
Instead my face was a shield
if only to buy me some time

Am I worth more than a thousand words?
I've stepped outside of the frame
My life has become my surroundings
No two see exactly the same

Now that it's all laid out
my portrait is solely for me
I move freely about
and paint what I want it to be

Am I worth more than a thousand words?
I've stepped outside of the frame
I am free to create my own world
My life won't ever be the same.

Song by T. C. Elliot:
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=9348.15





Scene 13: This is a big dancing number on the beach in bright daylight, in the same vein as the painting.


Joie de Vivre

(refrain)
Let it melt away
Bring love back today

Open the windows
Breathe in the air
Look at your people
You're reborn today

Let go of possessions
Let go of your cares
Go out / make new friends
Let yourself play

(refrain)
Let it melt away
Let love live today

Let the colours dance
Let your mind create
Let your muscles relax
Let joy permeate

Refresh and renew
Celebrate
Liberate
Start a clean slate

(refrain)
Let it melt away
Let love rule today

Hear the rhythms and sounds
of life that surround us
open your arms
and hear what they say

Live out your hopes
Let the smile on your face
lead you to make
your world a better place

(refrain)
Let it melt away
Put love on the stage

Song by Honker:
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=8832.0;topicseen

Commentary: Every line in this song is an imperative statement. It could possibly serve as some kind of mantra.





Scene 14: An unspecified amount of time later, Alex is drinking an espresso while looking out the window at the ocean. The radio is playing and (as in Scene 1) he hears about a natural disaster in a 3rd world country. He picks up the phone, orders a plane ticket, packs his bag and goes to help.


Dove of Peace

Like the first sun beam at the break of dawn
spring has arrived / winter is gone
it's the spring of all springs / the spring of our lives
perched on my sill sits the will to survive

Mourning has past for all that's been killed
A time of need is a time to rebuild
It was my day of rest but I feel more blessed
to give back the love of which I've been filled

The green leaf betrays life's power to stay
Do you hear what it has to say?
what matters in life / To laugh and live well
and to harmonize now on this day

Let's never forget how we came to this place
Let's not repeat the same mistakes
Preserve and cherish the joy that we have
Be there for each other on this miraculous path.

Song by FuzzFace:
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=9275.0

Commentary: This is about being given a new beginning, like Noah & co exiting the ark and everything in the world is fresh.

The whole point of this opera is that in order to produce positive results in the world, we must begin with ourselves. It's difficult to love others when we dislike parts of ourselves, because we all share the same traits. By resolving what is in our own heart and mind, we are resolving a piece of the world's problems... arguably the only piece where we have full responsibility. It is often said, "Charity begins at home".

For Mélanie.  I'm sorry.