Once Upon a Time (In Space) Old King Cole - The Mechanisms

Ulysses Dies At Dawn Trial By Song - The Mechanisms

[...] 

breaking through the ice, I 
scuttle down the riverbank till I 
espy the arboretum 
in your house… 
in your home… 

and covered in mud, I 
crawl into a carapace, 
and down the hallway 
you, the coniferous buoy 
bobbing on alpha waves, 
inspire a siren song, 
compose a nodding poem 
that will never see the light of day 
that will never see the light 

(but I) 
read in a dream 
Japanese garden 
head on the shoulder 
Japanese maple 
read in a dream 
Japanese garden 
head on the shoulder 
Japanese maple 
read in a dream… 
read in a dream… 

crossing crooked bridges, 
safe to knit you any garment now, but I 
cast off my crafty armaments, I 
cast you aside and I 
scoot away 

but didn’t we ditch those demons? 
are we not free to freeze and thaw as we please? 
to perch on branches 
whittled into benches 
built for human 
shivering 
un cœur en hiver 
un cœur qui ne verra jamais la lumière 

(mais je) 
lis dans un rêve 
jardin japonais 
tête sur épaule 
érable du Japon je 
lis dans un rêve 
jardin japonais 
tête sur épaule 
érable du Japon je 
lis dans un rêve… 
lis dans un rêve… 

everything will be 
simple someday soon 
everything will be 
simple, oh so simple 
everything will be 
simple someday soon… 

Простите мне, что я решился к вам писать. Перо в руке— 
вырезано имя на стволе. 
Меня кожа покраснела на свекольном красителе 
Вы меня поймали с поличным, читающего во сне; 
Ирландца, ходящего в шотландке, я люблю! 
Неразумно, но безмерно— я люблю! 
Относительно дополнительной сосновой шишки— 
Я не беру в голову, не беру в голову. 
Собственно я вырою уютную яму ему. 
Очевидно, язык мой — враг мой. 
А языка чужого я не опасаюсь; 
не боюсь укрепиться в густолиственном лесу! 
Тучи собираются над мной, а я пережду грозу— 
и как только вы дадите оценку 
я дам вам компенсацию, 
и секретно, в карман пальто, окаменелую незабудку... 

[...] 

I don’t want to be forgotten 
I don’t want to be forgotten 
I don’t want to be forgotten 
anymore 
anymore 

denuding adamant layers 
I peel past a period of interregnum and 
inherit the gilt cardboard crown from 
the downy-crested phoenix— 
my predecessor in this queue of 
panels in triptychs 
painted and pruned. 

the kingdom’s a sham; 
Hamlet without the Prince— 
and though a tree you may well be, 
I am not convinced. 

copper head on hickory shoulder, 
curled under covers, 
a fetal web of words… 

read in a dream 
Japanese garden 
copper head on hickory shoulder 
breaking through the ice— 
un cœur en hiver…

Stephan Nance — Japanese Garden / Jardin japonais / Yaponskii sad

ハシブト and ハシボソ
ガラス* caught colds
And シジュウカラ*
Got a yellow throat
And I feel
Like I don’t belong;
When I open my window
I hear all calls
No song

And in the forest
The lianas
Traded gold for evergreen
Threw shade
On the fauna
So ムササビさん*
Hides their head away
Can’t peek out
To catch some rays

Ooh ooh
家の家はどこですか
Ooh ooh
もう家の家はどこですか*

I spent
One month
In paradise
It ruined me
For other surroundings
I spent
Two months
In paradise
They stripped me clean
Of any lingering grounding

Reverse nature shock
An itinerant Song Sparrow* returns to the flock
With the distant stare of a Rough-legged Hawk*
With the deep despair of the last Great Auk*
Sticking a key in an electric lock

Ooh ooh
家の家はどこですか
Ooh ooh
もう家の家はどこですか

*ハシブトガラス — Large-billed Crow
*ハシボソガラス — Carrion Crow
*シジュウカラ — Japanese Tit
*ムササビさん — Musasabi-san (musasabi = Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel)
*家の家はどこですか... — Where's my home / Where's my home again?, or Where's my *home* home / Where's my *home* home again?
*Song Sparrow — ウタスズメ
*Rough-legged Hawk — ケアシノスリ
*Great Auk — オオウミガラス

Stephan Nance - vocals, piano, synth
Adam Caswell - programming
Milo Fultz - bass
Merlin Showalter - drums
Arrangement - Adam Caswell, Stephan Nance, & Merlin Showalter

Reverse Nature Shock (家の家)

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Every Fallen Feather

Red Room Vol. 1

Room By Room

Bayonnettes

Grind My Bones

Haunted Things

For Wolves

Shayfer James has built a creative world entirely his own—where poetic lyricism collides with cinematic arrangements, where darkness waltzes with whimsy, where rebellion and vulnerability share the same breath. His work explores the dual forces of isolation and belonging, of longing and defiance, all delivered with theatrical flair and unmistakable swagger that both welcomes and unsettles.

Every Fallen Feather

Shayfer James

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