All lyrics (C) Babs Mummelthey
All songs recorded and first released 2014 - 2015

Swirl

Lady Winter

We'll See

A Difficult Dance

Another Disaster Waltz

Picking Apples

Ithaca

LYRICS

Busy old fool, unruly sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
 Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
 Late school boys and sour prentices,
 Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices,
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.

Thy beams, so reverend and strong
Why shouldst thou think?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long;
If her eyes have not blinded thine,
Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,
Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine
Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.

She's all states, and all princes, I,
Nothing else is.
Princes do but play us; compared to this,
All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy.
Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,
In that the world's contracted thus.
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
To warm the world, that's done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.

John Donne

The Sun Rising

Lyrics by Babs Mummelthey

search 

i searched my life today
nothing there to find
still breathing in and out
my brain says nevermind

my life found me today
while i was searching yesterday
 
i searched my life today
nothing could i find
still beating near and far
my heart says nevermind
 
my life found me today
while i was searching yesterday


Photo (C) Babs Mummelthey

search

Lyrics by Babs Mummelthey

dust

this night hugs you with a tender deep black kiss
some glimmering breath, beginning hit an miss
 
this adventure means nothing to them, anyway
some glimmering heat, lost in passed promise
 
i am my own solution
i am my own revolution
i am my own execution
 
this night hugs you with a tender deep black kiss
meanwhile fingers to dust, morning to dismiss

***
Photo (C) Babs Mummelthey

dust

Lyrics by Babs Mummelthey

push

if i push the button will someone push it, too?
if i push the button will someone else push it, too?

if i push the button will something change forever?
if i push the button will anything change at all?

i lay by the edge of nowhere
dreaming about nothing
 
if i push the button nothing leads to nothing
if i push the button nothing makes sense

***
Photo (C) Babs Mummelthey

push

Lyrics by Babs Mummelthey

jump

jump to the right - abyss
jump to the left - hell
jump up - the sky crumbles onto your face
jump ahead - oh, really?
jump back - not really
jump down - oh, really?
jump ahead - not really

stop jumping, you ain't no fucking roo
stop jumping, it'll take you nowhere

Photo (C) Babs Mummelthey

jump

A 2009 cover version of the mother of all English folk songs.

Greensleeves

A song from Black Henbane's album "Picturesque Ruins" (2009).
Available on CD or as MP3 at
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/blackhenbane .

Lyrics

White horses run across the glade
All colors have begun to fade
The scent of with lavender
The gentle kiss of night

In nights like this weird dreams are born
I thought I saw an unicorn
Or something else forgotten
Maybe a wizard’s bride

Above the flames the dancin’ sparks
A red balet, jewels in the dark
We ain’t the ones we used to be
But only for tonight


Touch of Night

A song from Black Henbane's free download album "Kismet Candy Store" (2010).
The full album is available at
http://alonetone.com/blackhenbane/playlists/black-henbane-kismet-candy-store .

Lyrics

Angels with silver dolphins in china-blue eyes
Waving at me from the edge of paradise
Me, I’m watching a sitcom on TV
Hopin' they’ll wait for me

She-devils with golden scorpions in emerald eyes
Dancing fandango under blood-red skies
Me, I’m reading, having a cup of tea
Hopin' they’ll ask for me



Lazily crawling along
From dream to dream, 
From song to song


Dolphins and Scorpions

An instrumental from Black Henbane's free download album "Kismet Candy Store" (2010).
The full album is available at
http://alonetone.com/blackhenbane/playlists/black-henbane-kismet-candy-store .

Kismet

A song from Black Henbane's free download album "Kismet Candy Store".
The full album is available at
http://alonetone.com/blackhenbane/playlists/black-henbane-kismet-candy-store .

Lyrics

Oh why
So shy?
I ain’t no cannibal!
I’m just some guy
Whose coat and shoes are soaking wet,
Whose hands are cold, whose nose is red.
Do you really wanna leave me standing outside in the rain,
With my umbrella torn to pieces by the storm?
I know your gentle heart is able to show sympathy,
I know your kitchen’s dry and warm.
It’s 2 a. m., I’ll leave at 3,
After some conversation over tea.


2 a. m.

A song from Black Henbane's free download album "Kismet Candy Store" (2010).
The full album is available at
http://alonetone.com/blackhenbane/playlists/black-henbane-kismet-candy-store .

Lyrics

Your stocks all dropped, your house burnt down
As you lay gently sleeping
You woke up in the rubble and
You could not help but weeping
You could not help but weeping
And your wife eloped with the maid
Call it fate

And suddenly you realize
The emptiness between us
You mend your soul with plasterboard
And book a trip to Venus
You book a trip to Venus
But you fly to Saturn instead
That’s too bad

Ride on, ride on
To the gates of Babylon
And straight into the swamps of India
Just like Alexander did
You know what to do
Harry Potter waits for you
Look into the mirror and shout
I’m the greatest

Now you’ve run out
Of Prozac and coke
No chance to fake some laughter
Your lawyer quit his contract, the press
Is calling you a grafter
A damn gray- suited grafter
But don’t you throw yourself off a cliff -
Think positive!


Think Positive!

Lyrics by Babs Mummelthey

rubbish 

there is a house in nowhere land
there is a house for the fallen ones
there is a grave in nowhere land
there is a grave for the heavy ones

a flooded meadow full of broken souls
a flooded heaven full of damaged hearts
a flooded valley full of faded memories
a flooded plain full of empty thoughts
 
and the ignorant lift their feet off the rubbish
but the rubbish was the treasure to be found
but the rubbish was the treasure to be found
 
show is over, lift your feet infidel


rubbish

A song from Black Henbane's free download album "Kismet Candy Store" (2010). The full album is available at http://alonetone.com/blackhenbane/playlists/black-henbane-kismet-candy-store .

Lyrics

I gave you all that I could give you
I wrote a dozen songs for you
I painted rainbows, I bred new roses
Now open the first button

I nearly broke my spine when trying
To climb the vines up to your window
And all those serenades under your balcony
Now open the second button

I’d even shave my head to please you
I’d even attend mass with you
I’d even burn my guitar
Now open the third button


Three Buttons

Snow in June

I’ve seen snow in June
And a total eclipse of the moon
And a rose in full bloom in December
And a dinosaur’s tears in amber
But still I feel mute, deaf, and blind
Tell me something about the philosophy of mind

I’ve met saints and whores
And a bunch of lunatics, of course
Tried to live as a notorious sinner
But so far I’m still a bloody beginner
So what’s your advice for a wretch
Who knows how to grab things but who’s still too dumb to fetch?

Alright, gotta get out into the open
Some shit’s gotta hit the fan
What about holidays in Afghanistan?
Or maybe I'd better set out on a journey
Back to the prenatal land
In an isolation tank experiment
Isolation tank experiment
Sounds like fun

I’ve seen snow in June
And the eyes of the girl in the moon
Slept with Helen, Aphrodite, and Nike
But skipped the final chapter with Psyche
And I'm worried my abundant inner wealth
May not necessarily be a good thing for my mental health

Alright, gotta get out into the open
Some shit’s gotta hit the fan
What about holidays in Afghanistan
Or maybe I'd better set out on a journey
Back to the prenatal land
In an isolation tank experiment
Maybe that's the end of my predicament
Or maybe it ain't
Or maybe it ain't



Snow in June

Topaz

Stellar Trance

Blow the lights out, pretty lady,
Bid the June bug good night
Tell the crickets what to fiddle
Set the key for this night
And then let us try
Try and fly
Nine miles high
Through those clouds and to the moon
Dancin' the cosmic dance
In stellar trance

If this enterprise should fail, well
We can still go to the pub
Chat with Mary, Jane an Jerry
Till the clock-hands give up
Have breakfast at six
Then go home
Pine needle foam
Fresh linen under our skin
All this is part of the cosmic dance
In stellar trance
Once one has understood


Stellar Trance

Lyrics

My green
Is not the green I’d need to paint this meadow 
My blue is not
That of this sky above us

My gray
Is not the gray I’d need to paint your shadow
My yellow’s not
That of the sun above us

I’m gonna burn my brush, palette, and canvas
I’m gonna burn my brush, palette, and canvas
For all my colors are week
They’re not the colors I seek

My red
Is not the red I’d need to paint this fire 
My silver’s not
That of the moon above us

I’m gonna burn my brush, palette, and canvas
I’m gonna burn my brush, palette, and canvas
For all my colors are week
They’re not the colors I seek

My white
Is not the white I’d need to paint this winter
And my black is not
That of the darkness beckoning

I’m gonna burn my brush, palette, and canvas
I’m gonna burn my brush, palette, and canvas
For all my colors are week
They’re not the colors I seek

Wrong Colours

Peridot

Lyrics

Aeaea 

Stay away from me,
Beautiful enemy,
With your spells and your
Venomous remedies.
I shall leave Aeaea.

Don’t you follow me,
Merciless enemy.
I’ll rid my blood of this
Magical malady,
Sail home from Aeaea.

Fellow sailors, be warned
Of her, be aware:
Don’t you fall for her golden voice,
Her night-black hair.
When sailing west avoid Aeaea.

Aeaea

Welcome to the Circus

A song from Black Henbane's free download album "Kismet Candy Store".

Lyrics

When the morning haze still hid the brook
I awoke beside your open book
And on the floor I saw
Your footprints leading to the door
And the raven sitting in the tree
‘cross from my window seemed to be mocking me
And I prayed for rain
To drum against the window pane

Pale grey new day
Fading twilight of dawn
The pale sun’s first cold rays
Play with cold dew on the lawn

And the raven sitting in the tree
Spread his wings and flew away from me
And the curtains fell
As curtains do at funerals
With white tulips in a crystal vase
Smoking ashes in the fireplace
And Aphrodite’s bust
Shook her head in deep disgust

Pale grey new day
Fading twilight of dawn
The pale sun’s first cold rays
Play with cold dew on the lawn



Fading Twilight

Could anybody let me know why this song is so popular in South Africa and its neighbouring countries?

Lyrics

Sunday morning light is crawling
Across the bed-room wall
The ticking clock is all I hear
Whilst lying here enthralled
And I’m watching as you’re rolling
Your nylons up your thighs
In front of frozen window panes
Your shadow on the ice

So slowly, so slowly, so slowly

You put on your jasper jewelry
And your agate gem
And I hear your stockings chafing
‘gainst your red skirt’s hem
And in the mirror I can see
Your Sunday morning eyes
In front of frozen window panes
Your shadow on the ice

So slowly, so slowly, so slowly


Slow Motion

Lyrics

Time for a change
Time to decide
Throw me a coin to flip
Blow up the house
Tear down the bridges
Go on a one way trip

Upon arrival
I’ll burn the sails
Or better sink the whole ship
Rent me a hut
Down by the sea
And feed on rum, fish, and chips

Gimme a hug, 
Gimme a kiss,
Gimme a stern farewell
Or gimme a slap
Gimme a shove
Tell me to go to hell

Upon arrival
I’ll send you a note
A message by bottle or dove
A curl of my hair
A pearl from the beach
As a token of love


Time for a Change

Candy

Amethyst

Tourqoise

Black Henbane is a singer/songwriter, guitarist and home recording artist from Germany. The name refers to a plant (Hyoscyamus niger in Latin) which has been used by medieval witches for many purposes, because of its remarkable properties. It is not only beautiful to look at and very poisonous, but also said to have healing, aphrodising and hallucinogenic effects - all qualities that also make up a good pop song.

Black Henbane

Pinned to spotlight

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