1. |
Fellow-Feeling
03:29
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So I mourn for the dead, though they cannot hear my cries
What good is it unnoticed, what good is it to try
From that fear of cold and darkness, when imagined in that grave
Give power to restrain the injustice of mankind
The fortune of others, as I conceive
Not just the virtuous, or humane
However selfish that I may seem
Derive his sorrow
Though at ease I cannot feel his pain, imagination puts me in his place
The stroke is aimed (I shrink back) upon his arm
The beggar on the street, ulcers and sores
On the slackrope (I twist) the dancer writhes
Only conception
Yet enough to cause me that unease, the robust and feeble feel it too
To share the amusement of a book or a poem
And to enter in their sentiments just as if they were our own
The mortification when we jest and no one joins,
Feels so instantaneous that it cannot be self-love
The stroke is aimed upon his arm
The beggar on the street, ulcers and sores
On the slackrope the dancer writhes
Only conception
Though at ease I cannot feel his pain, imagination puts me in his place
Yet enough to cause me that unease, the robust and feeble feel it too
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2. |
Impartial Spectator
04:12
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How am I to know if what I do is right or wrong
I’m seeking approbation from the need to get along
And to be lovely, but not just to be loved.
Not only loved, but lovely in your eyes
Tell me how it seems from the outside looking in,
I want to be worthy of your praise devoid of sin
And to be lovely, but not just to be loved.
Not only loved, but lovely in your eyes
And to be lovely, but not just to be loved.
Not only loved, but lovely in your eyes
The emptiness of fame when the public misconstrues,
Fills me with anxiety, ‘cuz you know it’s not true
And to be lovely, but not just to be loved.
Not only loved, but lovely in your eyes
And to be lovely, but not just to be loved.
Not only loved, but lovely in your eyes
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3. |
Silent Revolution
03:44
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They say beauty is in order
What’s left over in so few hands
But the landlords spell their doom
Wanting the jewelry the merchants have
The price they paid could buy them a thousand different men
And though they get the diamonds
Power leaves them, and commerce wins instead
Here comes the silent revolution,
Moving slowly, no certainty
Interdependence, cultivation
From no design comes prosperity
Without any intention, without beneficence
The feudal system’s dying
Lords made obsolete from their childish vanity
Without any intention, without beneficence
The feudal system’s dying
Lords made obsolete from their childish vanity
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4. |
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Well at six years old we seem to be
in ability nearly the same soon changed by modernity
And our innate desire to truck barter or exchange
and you’re not any higher in worth or dignity
Whether you’re paid to think or move on the street
your disposition and genius were made in equity
In isolation they’d appear the same
still that philosopher remains so vain
But the fellow dogs separately
can’t utilize their different skills, strength, swiftness or docility
From no innate desire to truck barter or exchange
and you’re not any higher in worth or dignity
Whether you’re paid to think or move on the street
your disposition and genius were made in equity
So Aristotle was wrong about the slaves
still that philosopher remains so vain
It’s our innate desire to truck, barter, or exchange
and you’re not any higher in worth or dignity
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5. |
Chinese Earthquake
02:58
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Far away from where I’m sleeping, tragedy shakes the earth
Myriad of its inhabitants, the Chinese empire swallowed whole
Annihilated in a moment, reflect upon misfortune
But what for European trade? Return to pleasure all the same
He calls to me, the man within, showing a powerful reflection
What’s honorable, neighborly love, my fellow-feeling’s just so limited
But if you told me that tomorrow, my little finger would be gone
I’d lie awake in real disturbance, do you tremble at the thought?
He calls to me, the man within, showing a powerful reflection
What’s honorable, neighborly love, my fellow-feeling’s just so limited
He calls to me, the man within, showing a powerful reflection
What’s honorable, neighborly love, my fellow-feeling’s just so limited
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6. |
Pin Factory
02:49
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From wire drawn ‘til the straightening, pass through eighteen distinct hands
Ten people now could make more in a day than if left to do on their own
Cut first before put into paper, the pin comes out in completion
What seems at first to be a trifling trade is revealed to greatly improve
And the master of a family knows this truth
that you don’t make it at home what it costs less to buy
And the master of a family knows this truth
that you don’t make it at home what it costs less to buy
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7. |
The Dumb Specialist
03:50
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Through division of labor, so improved and refined
with so much variety of goods I can try
And all that specialization, at the cost of my mind
a few operations take all my time
And from this mindless employment, I’ll avoid and abhor
the life of a soldier, I won’t go to war
Will I forget how to read, my intellect atrophies
I’m drawn to superstition from the routine of my trade
For the hunters and shepherds, though their state is so rude
every man is a warrior, industrious too
And all that specialization, at the cost of my mind
a few operations take all my time
Will I forget how to read, my intellect atrophies
I’m drawn to superstition from the routine of my trade
Mental invigoration, can I be saved? Ten years of education, I’ll be ok
Ten years…
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8. |
Man of Luxury
04:48
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Filled with anger and ambition I see all those riches
if I attained all that I’d be at ease
Oh the pain and inconvenience from my small little cottage
obligation sorrow and fatigue
Maybe I could labor with such industry
find the greatness that’d give me tranquility inside
I believe
But then someday I’ll be a man of luxury
through the toil and the pain I’ll attain felicity
Cater to those I despise, and serve those I hate for convenience of body and mind
But then someway it’s not the same as a life of tranquility
and all of that time was for meaningless utility
Would you believe me if I said, as I lie on my deathbed
that I don’t wish I worked so very hard
But then someway it’s not the same as a life of tranquility
and all of that time was for meaningless utility
Would you believe me if I said, as I lie on my deathbed
that I don’t wish I worked so very hard
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