High Drama
(Truesingers)
Hoofbeats thunder across the plain
As you sight a black sail on the Spanish Main
And the passengers on the runaway train
Are starting to feel a little nervous strain
When you break into the lair of the evil mage
And the giant ape's busting out of his cage
And the kitchen erupts in screams of rage
Because the trainee cook's added too much sage
High drama
Coming to a theatre near you
High drama
Wonder if they'll make it through
High drama
The gang can't agree how to split the take
Going downhill at ninety someone cut the brake
And the vampire count's just about to awake
When you find out you came out without your stake
When the whole Lost Temple begins to shake
And the boss gets poisoned by a clerk on the make
When you're trying to flee from the great earthquake
But you're not gonna make it 'cause you stepped on a rake
High drama
Coming to a theatre near you
High drama
Wonder if you'll make it through
High drama
High drama
Some people just don't know how to relax
Ain't nothing surer than death and tax
(Listen to the sax!)
Some people just need to play it cool
If you get het up over every little thing you're a fool
(Go back to school!)
When the street's jammed solid and you're running late
When you ask for nine doughnuts and they give you eight
When your lunch arrives on a dirty plate
And you pick up a splinter from a packing crate
When you don't like the face of your candidate
And you're even less enchanted by her running mate
And you want to get a gun and overthrow the state'
Cause there's people getting married and they ain't straight
High drama
Coming to a theatre near you
High drama
Wonder if we'll make it through
High drama
Why'd you have to overreact?
High drama
Ain't nothing but a simple fact
(use some tact)
High drama
High drama
High drama
(Who put the drama in the Drama Llama Ding Dong?)
“Tollain says after High Drama we ought to do a song called Low Comedy. I told him it would be a summary of our career to date.”
--Suncat
SUNCAT ANGHARAD MORNINGSKY
Suncat grew up on Argenthome, a then UnAffiliated world, the only daughter of a minor landholder who, when Suncat was a teenager, was unexpectedly elevated to the position of Presiding Seigneur. A
wild child who did not take to her new social duties, she was sent to Miss Ganticold’s finishing school on Durdemang, where she met Kaichang Belgardis and Verneen Halannim and formed the group which
would become the Truesingers.
After her expulsion, Suncat took her friends back to Argenthome and they embarked on a semi-professional career singing folk songs and standards. They hit a bump when Suncat publicly endorsed Affiliation on stage, but the experience tempered their resolve and they pursued, and soon gained, offworld recognition. The rest is history...
Sir Cantaloupe and the Wuzzle
(Suncat)
The Queen called for Sir Cantaloupe, the bravest of the brave,
"Sir Knight," she said, "'t is only you can fetch us what we crave.
We dearly wish a Wuzzle from the forests to the north,
And so, Sir Knight, we charge you to ride forth."
Sir Cantaloupe was bound to heed his sovereign's lightest word.
She told him to ride forth, but he was keen, so he rode third.
He galloped through the castle gate at the dawning of the day
And went to find a Wuzzle, come what may.
"This Wuzzle is a puzzle I can't read.
I must have help to solve it with all speed.
I shall ride without delayTo the Witch of Westernhay
Perhaps she'll have the knowledge that I need."
On rode Sir Cantaloupe as day turned into night.
He reached the witch's cottage by the full moon's eerie light.
She gave him tea and crumpets and a glass of buttered rum
And then she asked him point blank why he'd come.
Sir Cantaloupe he laid the facts before her fair and square.
"The Queen desires a Wuzzle and to fail I do not dare.
I'm brave and strong and clever, but there's one snag I can see:
I've no clue what a Wuzzle's supposed to be!
Does a Wuzzle need a muzzle? Will it bite?
When I find it will it put up any fight?
Is it beast or fish or bird,
Could I tame it with a word?
Help me out here and I swear I'll see you right."
The witch she proved a fund of information on this theme:
"You can lure it with a ladleful of jasmine-scented steam.
But never seek your Wuzzle when it's coming on to rain
Or the water will just wash it down the drain!"
Sir Cantaloupe took careful notes as she talked on and on,
He left a purse of gold and in the morning he was gone.
He rode into the north woods to seek Wuzzles with a will,
And for all I know he's up there seeking still...
The King inquired "Where is that frightful bore?Has someone been so kind as to start a war?
His discourses made me yawn
I'm relieved to find he's gorn
But I'd like to know just what he's gorn out for."
"Oh, do you mean Sir Cantaloupe?" the Queen said, looking coy.
"I've sent him on a quest that I'm quite certain he'll enjoy.
It's doomed to utter failure, but that's just the kind of test
That your true authentic hero loves the best.
He'll meet with many dangers and he'll do some mighty deeds,
Exactly the employment that a real knight errant needs.
He really wasn't happy moping round here night and day
Naught to do but drink and guzzle
Not a chance to use his muscle
Now he's gone to hunt a Wuzzle
Far away--
Don't thank me dear, thank the Witch of Westernhay!"
VERNEEN HALANNIM
Verneen comes from a large family; her parents and elder sisters work as planet-hopping freelance archaeologists, with a sideline as dealers in antiquities. While Verneen shares their love of deep
history, she never took to the discipline itself, and as she puts it, “they despaired of me.” It came as a surprise when she discovered in herself a talent for playing the flute, which she has since
built upon till she can now play a wide range of wind instruments. This, however, did not seem to her family a sound basis for a future career, so they decided (Verneen’s words again) that “if I was
going to be a lady of leisure I should at least learn to do it properly. So they packed me off to Miss Ganticold’s, where I was utterly miserable till I met Kaichang. And then we both met Suncat, and
you know the rest.”
What We Never Said
(Verneen)
Among the scented flowers
We walked for hours and hours
And talked of this and that
How's your sister, how's your cat
And the talk went on
Till the sun was gone
And I looked into your eyes
As we told our easy lies
Pretending nothing strange was happening
Pretending this was not goodbye...
What we never said
Hangs between us still
As it always did
And it always will
And though time goes by
Like the stars above
All the years ahead
Hold the memory of
What we never said.
It began to rain
As we caught the train
And we laughed as we got in
Shaking raindrops from our skin
And we found a seat
The wheels picked up the beat
And we talked, your hand in mine
As the train sped down the line
And in the torrent of our talking
Somehow the truth got left behind...
What we never said
Dwindled in our wake
'Cause I couldn't give
What you wouldn't take
And it haunts my mind
And won't fade away
That our chance is fled
We can never say
What we never said.
Was it politeness or just fear
That kept the words unspoken?
If I had dared to say it clear
Would my heart now be broken?
Would I be there, would you be here,
Would we have found a way to make it happen?
Make it happen...
And now this city street
Has made my pain complete
For you just passed me by
Didn't even catch my eye
And if I called your name
It would be just the same
You'd greet me with a smile
And we'd stand and talk a while
And neither one of us would break it
The silence louder than a scream...
What we never said
It would still remain
For the chance we had
Won't come round again
And though I might dream
Of the things I'd do
All my dreams are dead
I can't say to you...
What we never said
Has grown much too wide
Couldn't cross it now
Even if we tried.
It would snap the thread
Of our destinyI can't face the dread
That you might say to me...
(rpt chorus 1)
Take No Prisoners
(Kaichang)
Hoist the black flag, let it run, let it catch the wind
Ready all hands, man the guns
'Cause we're taking no prisoners this day
Never let a prize slip away
There lies a ship, full of gold, fat and wallowing,
Stand by to board, strip the hold,
Let the sailors all plead for their lives,
Make sure not a man jack survives.
Take no prisoners
Give no quarter
Spare no man or maiden
No son or daughter
Show no mercy
To the living
What we've done already's
Far past forgiving
Take no prisoners.
Don your glad rags, paint your face, find your dancing shoes,
Stepping out proud to the place
'Cause you're taking no prisoners tonight
Going where the feeling is right
Taking the floor, make 'em stare, make 'em cry for you
Never let slip that you care
That you're fighting this war deep inside
Never let 'em see what you hide.
Take no prisoners
Give no quarter
Spare no man or maiden
No son or daughter
Show no mercy
To your lovers
From the pain you've known
No-one recovers
Take no prisoners.
There's treasure to be found if you are strong enough
And though the game is rough
It does no good to whine.
There's pleasure to be had if you can act real tough
Get out and strut your stuff
And you'll be fine.
Take no prisoners
Give no quarter
Spare no man or maiden
No son or daughter
Show no mercy
In your dealings
Never show them
That you've got feelings
Take no prisoners.
Take no prisoners.
Take no prisoners!
Could You Even Try?
(Suncat)
Birds awake and greet the morning
With songs of joy and praise
Sunlight hits my bedroom window
And breaks into coloured rays.
Rising from the bed I turn and
Regard you as you sleep
I am filled with life and energy
You’re still fathoms deep.
If I were to dance in the garden
Until the sun was high,
Would you wake and join me joyfully?
Could you even try?
Could you even try?
Breakfast done, you take a book and
Retire to your armchair.
I’m content to stand in the doorway
And breathe the outer air.
Far away the paths are winding
To places I’ve never been
Out beyond the hills and valleys
Are sights I’ve never seen.
If I were to go out walking
Across the hilltops high,
Would you come and be my companion?
Could you even try?
Could you even try?
You are you and I am me
And that’s the way I like it
But if there’s a happy medium
It might be nice to strike it...
(just once in a while)
Home I come to find the house is
As clean as clean can be
And there are laid my favourite dishes
You made them just for me.
Afterwards between the covers
We lie as lovers do
And once again I’m falling happily
Into the bliss of you.
How have I deserved your loving?
Oh how, and when, and why?
Could you be a little less perfect?
Could you even try?
Could you even try?
GESTALT and Truesingers will be touring again early next year with all new songs and introducing some very special new friends:
the Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra with their conductor Andrei Ostrowski.
You will not believe what you hear -
Watch this space!
Matryoshka
(Suncat)
See me inside me inside me inside...
Cute little Russian doll, infinite mother
Carry your offspring one inside the other
Yellow and scarlet and emerald and blue
Each one is different and each one is you
Tell me matryoshka, would you rather keep
All of your daughters hid snugly and deep?
Do you feel pain when I split you in two
And cry for your children exposed to my view?
No, you are stoical under your shawl
These violations don't faze you at all
You have been opened by others before
Your seal is long broken, your secrets no more
Oh matryoshka, how can you bear
To have all your layers exposed to the air?
How can you stay so calm and serene
Knowing that all that you are
Can so easily be seen?
Cute little Russian doll, my faithful friend
Maybe your way is the best in the end
Having no secrets means nothing to lose
Yet I couldn't walk for a mile in your shoes
(I assume there are shoes)
Yet there's a secret you hide nonetheless
Safely concealed in traditional dress
How to hold on to your identity
When you're at the mercy of people like me
Oh matryoshka, don't you long to be free?
KAICHANG BELGARDIS
Kaichang does not talk about her past. All that is known is that she grew up on an agri-colony world, from which she was sent to Miss Ganticold’s with sponsorship from a religious order. It was there
that she discovered the two grand passions of her life; music, and Verneen.
“I don’t make friends easily,” she says, “but when I met Verneen it was like I had discovered a missing piece of myself. She helped me to open up to other people, and when she fell for Suncat I just
found myself doing the same. We quickly became inseparable, and music was part of the bond we discovered, so it was only natural we should form a group.”
Kaichang taught herself the guitar “just because it was what we needed.” Now an acknowledged mistress of the axe, she lends the Truesingers the edge that makes them more than just a folk
trio.
Last Look Back
(Verneen)
Pausing, I turn on the brow of the hill
To take a last look at my childhood
The silver-spun river that powered the mill
The browns and the greens of the wildwood
The gold of the fields and the roofs of red clay
Of the houses, the grey of the steeple
And moving among them, intent on their day,
The bright busy bugs that are people.
And I see that my village has grown to a town
The woods and the fields gone to feed it
The river is dammed and the steeple torn down
Why not? After all, who would need it?
The people all ride on the train every day
To work in a faraway city
And slowly my birthplace gives in to decay
With no-one to mourn or to pity.
And I turn and walk on up the road and I leave
The wreck of my childhood behind me
I don't know what I'll find, but I don't want to grieve
So I'll look for a place...
That won't ever remind me.
“Tollain’s been very keen to, er, enhance our music with bells and whistles and all those things he does so well. Luckily we have Kaichang. I’ve never seen anyone jump on to a wardrobe from a
standing start before. And he’s only little.”
--Verneen
TRUESINGERS
First formed in SA 839 (Argenthome local 2410), the Trusingers (who abandoned the eccentric spelling before their first paying gig) started out as a hobby for three bored and rebellious schoolgirls.
Their first album, Bring Ye Ballads Fair, was produced under the auspices of the Broadfields Folk Song Society in SA 841, and did well enough to finance their second, Truesingers, which included two
songs of their own composition. The third album, Out And About, was entirely self-composed, and appeared in SA 844, after the group had suffered a spell in the political wilderness on Argenthome.
They then joined up with Tollain Kintarsh to form Gestalt, but maintain their own identity as a “band-within-a-band.”
Truesingers are Suncat (lead vocals and percussion), Verneen (flute, saxophone, recorder and vocals) and Kaichang (guitar, axe, bass and vocals). Doma Telinzy was a member early in the group’s
history, playing synths and drums, but left to pursue a solo career after only one year.
Undercurrents
(Kaichang)
First Voice:
Under every conversation
They run fast and deep
Ready to sweep
Ready to sweep me away
I can't tell how the currents flow
I can't tell which way they're going to go
Undercurrents, hidden from the light of the day
Under every word and gesture
Hidden meanings lieI don't know why
I don't know why they are there
But sooner or later I'll make a slip
Lose my footing and feel the current's grip
Undercurrents, dragging me away who knows where.
Second Voice:
All I say is all I mean
All I mean is all I say
Nothing here that can't be seen
Nothing hidden
Nothing hidden
Stupid games I don't have time to play...)
Why is it you're so suspicious
Doubt my every word?
Haven't you heard
Haven't you heard what I said?
You see currents where there are none
Multiple meanings when there is only one
Undercurrents, and they're all inside of your head.
Third Voice (over First and Second Voices reprising "All I say is all I mean..."):
Are you really so transparent
Innocent of the lying game?
Check yourself before you answer
Undercurrents
Undercurrents
Run through all our minds, we're all the same...
All:
Under all our surface thinking
Deep desires abound
Swirling around
Swirling around in our souls
Shape our words though we never guess
Drag away at our consciousness
Undercurrents, driving us on to the shoals.
It's not enough just to swim away
Post a sign for another day
Undercurrents, long as you can tell where they be...
Undercurrents, needn't make you scared of the sea.
A Desperate Lark
(Suncat)
It's a desperate lark but I think we can do it
With you by my side, well I know we'll get through it okay
Tell me what do you say?
We'll swing on a vine 'cross the bottomless chasm
And swipe precious stones from whichever fool has 'em and then
We'll swing back again
Oh, won't you come for a desperate lark
Oh won't you dance for a while in the dark
Dance in the dark
It's a desperate lark but I think we can risk it
If Cerberus barks we'll just give him a biscuit or three
One for each head, you see
We'll hitch us a ride on the infernal ferry
Grab as many dead souls as the ferry can cerry and then
Back to daylight again
Oh, won't you come on a desperate lark
Oh won't you spend a whole night in the park
Locked in the park
It's a desperate lark but I've thought it all over
I've got this great plan in which you play my lover and we
Buy a house by the sea
We'll work at whatever there is to be done
And when we're not working there's bound to be fun to be had
And we'll never be sad
(well, not too often)
Oh, won't you come on a desperate lark
Now, before we go into the dark
Oh, won't you come on a desperate lark
Quick, before we go into the dark...(repeat and fade out)
“You always wonder, going on tour with a new album, will this be the one that falls flat on its stupid face and finishes us? So I decided on the pirate outfit. That way, they’ll be too scared
not to applaud.”
--Kaichang
Make It Home
(Kaichang)
In the light of burning boats
We stand naked on the shore
And we look into each other's eyes
And know we are alone,
And we cannot know nor guess
What the future holds in store;
This is a strange land,will we ever make it home?
When the storm was at its height
And we feared our hour had come,
That the spirits of the sea would take
And claim us for their own,
Then I prayed to all the gods
Till my lips with cold grew numb:
"Let us find land, let my people make it home."
There is much in this new land to fill our hearts with fear,
There is reason to believe we are not wanted here...
But my crew must eat and drink
And in sleep must close their eyes,
Without fear that some wild beast aprowl
Will gnaw them to the bone,
So we shall stay here for a time
By what means we can devise,
This is not our land,
But some day we shall make it home.
The trees fall to the axe, the beasts fall to the spear,
And one day we discover there are people here...
We have dwelt here for a time
And the land has shaped our lives
And my crew has grown accustomed
To this shore where we were thrown,
And they would not now be reft
From their homes and from their wives...
This is not our land,
But somehow we have made it home.
It is not our land
But now I know we've made it home.
“I think by the time we got to Make It Home Kaichang was feeling sorry for me, ‘cause she just said oh go on then. So I bunged everything in there that I’d wanted to put in all the other
songs. If you listen carefully at about 2:48, you can actually hear the kitchen sink.”
--Tollain Kintarsh
Pull Back, Roll Credits
(Truesingers)
So here we are
And now you've had your say,
And no-one will deny
That you've fairly won the day.
It's been a long hard journey
But you finally saw it through
And now there's only one thing left to do...
CHORUS
Pull back, roll credits,
The good guys saved the world.
The villains were defeated
And the hero's got the girl.
And if you pull back far enough
There's a chance that you won't see,
That someone in the cast's not smiling...
And it's me.
I know the rules
I know how stories go.
The hero makes a journey
And he fights a deadly foe.
And when he's gone to all that trouble
And risked his very life
He deserves the happy ending, and the wife...
Pull back, roll credits,
The final music swells
With trumpets, strings and timpani
And of course there must be bells,
And if they play it loud enough
To shake the chandeliers
It might just drown the quiet sound
Of my tears.
And how supremely churlish
And ill-mannered would it be
To break the mood of triumph
And say "Hey, what about me?"
And how the other players
Would stare at me in shame
If I didn't keep my place and play the game...
So take your prize
This trophy that you've won.
We've got to the denouement
And now this story's done.
But there are other stories
And some day soon you'll learn
That I can be a hera in my turn...
CHORUS INTERRUPTUS
Yes, pull back, roll credits,
But just for now, my friend,
And put a little question mark
On the end of "The End"....(key change!)
Pull back, roll credits,
That's what we always do,
And then let's have a party
And talk about part two
.I've got some neat ideas to pitch
A whole new storyline...
It's my turn to save the world,
My turn to get the girl,
And I know that on my own I'll do just fine...
The next one's mine!
“Verneen was not happy about being given the lead to sing on the last track. She kept saying ‘I’m not a lead singer, I’m not a lead singer.’ I had to offer to sing it myself in the end. That
did it.”
--Orville Torres
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by: Tollain Kintarsh (“Yes!”) and
Kaichang Belgardis (“NO!!”)
Engineered by: Korynn Mitwoch
Recorded and mixed down at Gestalt’s own studio in the beautiful Riversmeet meinie, Argenthome.
Verneen plays a 1300-year-old galdwood
flute made by the Sehani people on Olve,
a culture now extinct.
Suncat plays a pink plastic tambourine
she’s had since she was five.
Kaichang plays some guitars.
And we all sing.
GUESTS
Orville Torres: bass, backing vocals
Tollain Kintarsh: drums, backing vocals
Korynn Mitwoch: piano, synth
TRUESINGERS WOULD LIKE TO THANK:
Sandomar, for beautiful guitars
Derwent—he knows why
Cass Dwyer, for the bios
Suncat’s dad
Verneen’s parents
Every woman who’s ever fought and
refused to give in
And of course you
Whatever you sing, sing true.
This Booklet:
Lyrics as credited. Bios by Cassivel Dwyer. Image sources as follows:
p. 2, 4 (top), 7: supplied by the band.
p.4 (bottom), 6, 10, 11, 12: from the “Coming To A Theatre” tour, courtesy of Rolf St.Ana, reproduced by permission.
Layout and reproduction: Windyridge Promotions, Argenthome, in association with GN Artist Management.