Robert Cordrey - Scott Collingwood - Ray Cochrane are Spirit Level.


        Scarecrow

strawman don`t you dare
stare at my house
my house glares back at you
soupcan eyes try to hide
what`s living down in your shoe

make me moonshot crazy
waving wire arms in the wind
my soul`s flame thrower surely gonna sing
if you move your hands again

you`ll reap what you sow
listen to the scarecrow

give me back my hat
I don`t wear it like that
your saw teeth got rats
your little flock flock of sparrows
scatter when pond ice cracks

I hear what your saying
you`re all over the news
burned-over messiah talking holy fire on booze
and I`m coming with a match for you

you`ll reap what you sow
listen to the scarecrow

© Robert Cordrey Feb. 2021

ScareCrow

Music Underwater

drip drip cavern dark
shivering shimmering
thoughts fly and spark

folding wings inside myself
hours of days accordion
who will come to help
                neversinkneversinkneversink


weak the arms fighting for me
in a tiny ocean
the belly of a beast
heard that drum once before
music underwater
the day I was born

deep inside this dare
drink the midnight cool
pray the mountain spirit spares

feel her breathe and sigh 
how to tell you mother
when we are eye to eye
                swimtoyouswimtoyouswimtoyou


weak the arms fighting for me
in a tiny ocean
the belly of a beast
I heard that drum once before
music underwater
the day I was born

© Robert Cordrey Jan. 2019

Music Underwater

Which Dream

which dream
which dream will you choose

the dream of immortality
losing youth in vanity`s
lake of mirrors
hungry eyes of children look 
flipping pages of your book
for an ending clear

waking you`ll know what to do
the mystery
is dreaming you

which house
which house will you build
the heart house shuttered up by fear
pictures whisper when you draw near
leave the door ajar
travelling by compass yearning
raising arches ever learning
where to hang your star

arriving you`ll know what to do
the mystery
is expecting you

which song 
which song will you sing

the song played on a cheap guitar
ageing fingers cannot barre
the moon to impress
a voice with no boast or lament
your bones become the instrument
angels bless

beginning you`ll know what to do
the mystery
sings through you

which dream
which dream will you choose

© Robert Cordrey Oct. 2021

Which Dream

Vocal and Lyric by Robert Cordrey

 3 6 9


he trembles with atomic laws
feels currents run through the earth
he`s a whirling field of force
the cosmic ray gave birth

in his voltage vision
he`s a science magician
on the third rock from the sun
forget about Edison

in your thought turbine
oh Nikola your mind
out of step electrons
all alone ideas born
Galileo knew
Pythagoras too
Einstein saw your ratio divine
3 6 9

poet of smashed atoms
dreams of space beam weapons
stunned by a ray from the sun
forget about Elon

in your thought turbine
oh Nikola your mind
out of step electrons
all alone ideas born
Galileo knew
Pythagoras too
Einstein saw your ratio divine
3 6 9
its kinetic invisible highly divisible
limitless energy sublime
3 6 9

© Robert Cordrey Oct. 2022

The Other Side Of Silence


distant dust cloud rider
could be a monster or a man
or a boy deciding which he`ll be
in the crazy caravan

its wickedness takes you alone
I still hear her last words
in the answers for all your asking
aren`t I the missing chord
on the other side of silence
its guns and swords

watching from the window
like a butterfly in glass
her arms wide forever
held breath of the past
so I lost her
to the other side of silence

in our a castle of quiet
we heard the prairie breeze blow
an army of soft heartbeats in the grass
worms moving down below

I starved her dream to feed my desire
I had to learn how to be
in the roar and glitter 
standing on the sea
on the other side of silence
there`s no peace

watching from the window
like a butterfly in glass
her arms wide forever
held breath of the past
so I lost her
to the other side of silence

© Robert Cordrey Nov. 2022

The Other Side Of Silence

Robert Cordrey, lyrics, vocals, video production 
Scott Collingwood, lead guitar and fills, soundtrack production
Band in a Box, Leonardo.ai, Kyber.ai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf2AeriZedk

Kaleidoscope



when this city is a sliver
stuck under your skin
spreading chaos in your veins
making your head spin

take the sunlit road
an arms length from the sky
there`s a bird in your body
remembers how to fly


they wont catch you
no they can`t catch you
we`ll travel in disguise
through a crack in the concrete
crack in the concrete
the kaleidoscope of eyes
dream of a thousand lives


if God is a pebble
sinking in your heart
like a junkyard angel
your grace falls apart


take the sunlit road
an arms length from the sky
there`s a bird in your body
remembers how to fly


they wont catch you
no they can`t catch you
we`ll travel in disguise
through a crack in the concrete
crack in the concrete
the kaleidoscope of eyes
dream of a thousand lives
dream of a thousand lives


Robert Cordrey, 2016

Kaleidoscope

Maybe a twist on the DaVinci Code. We hear the stories, the conspiracy theories are they fact or fiction. All depends on who you follow.


Robert Cordrey, lyrics, vocals, video production 
Scott Collingwood, lead guitar and fills, soundtrack production
Band in a Box, Leonardo.ai, Kyber.ai
Mixed and Mastered in Studio One 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6veKqCRQDg

 The Order of the Hoax


nisi nisi in tenebris
nisi nisi clam
nothing in the dark
nothing underhand

a masterful fiction
puppets dancing for the crown
even Illuminati
failed to bring the old Order down

penitents of the pulpit
in white wigs raise your throats
drink from the bone goblet
to the Order of the Hoax

nothing in the dark
nothing underhand
will you take a step
you can`t see where you land

in secret at your bidding
against your will without shame
for the ones who bought our fears
sold them back to us again

nothing in the dark
nothing underhand
will you take a step
you can`t see where you land


© Robert Cordrey  Sept. 2023

Order Of The Hoax

Bluebell Hill


it snowed and snowed and snowed
she melted frost flowers
on the tip of her nose
sang to the pale shy sun
turn sleighbells to bluebells
make sliding streams run

ooh Katie`s climbing
her secret rhyming
on the wind to spill
angels bend to bless
a skylark brooch
on a wildflower dress
ooh Katie`s climbing
Bluebell Hill

Forever Young the bus comes along
laughing round corners
we sing Katie`s song
boys and girls come out to play
we`re old as the moon
as bright as day


ooh Katie`s climbing
her secret rhyming
on the wind to spill
angels bend to bless
a skylark brooch
on a wildflower dress
ooh Katie`s climbing
Bluebell Hill

ooh Katie`s climbing
ooh Katie`s rhyming
ooh Katie`s shining
on Bluebell Hill

© Robert Cordrey Sept. 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzbGx9v4MDY

Bluebell Hill

Promised Land

make a mosaic
Holy Roman archaic
shards to treasure on your wall
under your pink palace
spurs and a chalice
on bones of horses build the automall

gold drenched messiah
since the day your sails unfurled
we are the savage survivors
of the worst journey in the world
your gods have yet to show their hand
reward you
in the promised land

conquistador
of twentytwentyfour
new trinkets to trade for a continent
a huckster hidalgo
selling lies from a chateaux
bring down to dust your monument

gold drenched messiah
since the day your banner unfurled
we are the savage survivors
of the worst journey in the world
your gods have yet to show their hand
reward you
in the promised land

© Robert Cordrey October 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MT6_8UhGoc

Promised Land

Robert Cordrey, lyrics, vocals, video production 
Scott Collingwood, lead guitar and fills, soundtrack production 
Band in a Box, Leonardo.ai, Kyber.ai 
Mixed and Mastered in Studio One 6

video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPkLnRCmskc

Satellite Debris

hand me up those skyhooks
with an I-link I can finish the deck
so glad we saved vacation credits
for the super suction space magnet 

we`ll build a lighthouse island
an island of space weapon junk
scour the Exosphere static
on our rocket renovation treasure hunt

come come with me
out past the periphery
little darling its almost free 
we`ll make a mansion
a mansion from satellite debris

sitting on our Sputnik sofa
hand crank the revelation
they`re playing Memories of the Future
on Fallout Radio there`s one station

such a waste of mind
to wonder how all this crap got here
close the galaxy blind
have a beautiful Ballistic craft beer

come come with me
out past the periphery
little darling its almost free
we`ll make a mansion
a mansion from satellite debris


© Robert Cordrey Oct.2023

Satellite Debris

Robert Cordrey, lyrics, vocals, video production 
Scott Collingwood, lead guitar and fills, soundtrack production 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMVb7j8rvDs

 The Paradise Cost

hearts our hearts
seek pleasure first
minds our minds
for knowledge thirst

we stole fire
from the gods
barricades of hubris
against those odds
     
firelight showed us 
many doors
through one named "desire"
the screams of war

things we`ve seen
things we`ve seen you and I 
all we remember
we remember how we strive
the paradise cost to our lives

from SteelSky City 
back thru Babylon
unbearable beauty
and the damage done

frenzy of greed
or less is more
the devil stepped in
when we opened that door

things we`ve seen
things we`ve seen you and I 
all we remember
we remember how we strive
the paradise cost to our lives


hearts our hearts
seek pleasure first
minds our minds
for knowledge thirst


© Robert Cordrey Dec. 2023

Paradise Cost

Robert Cordrey, lyrics, vocals, video production 
Scott Collingwood, lead guitar and fills, soundtrack production

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npFWqLuQ1UA

The Sea To Sky Highway

every hour I miss you
is a mile a mile
on a road from the sea to the sky

from foggy ferry to eagle`s eyrie
I walk from blue to blue
your pearl in my pocket wearing through

around regrets and hurting
something shines shines
if its pure let the road choose our time

where are you now
I`m facing both ways
waiting for that state of grace
on the sea to sky highway

rain falls on footsteps
falling soft as goodbye
soaked in your words I`ll never dry

hope you found your sunlit island 
high above this foggy world
found the grain of sand inside the pearl


where are you now
I`m facing both ways
waiting for that state of grace
your gentle breathing makes
on the sea to sky highway


Robert Cordrey, April 2016

Sea To Sky Highway

Robert Cordrey, lyrics, vocals, video production Scott Collingwood, lead guitar and fills, soundtrack production Band in a Box, Leonardo.ai, Kyber.ai Mixed and Mastered in Studio One 6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jouW2nPT6n4

   Why We Ride

when the endless road
ends at Unexpected
alloy hope corrodes
in the ditch you`re disconnected

revive your rusty rims
in the beauty of cadence
50-34 spins
rotating radiance

you may ask where
might ask when
never ask why we ride

a clear path through trees
under your own steam
all you ever wanted  
as a human powered machine

oh the heart hill hurt
that`s your pay dirt
circulating flight
left & right on a bike

you may ask where
might ask when
never ask why
why we ride
never ask why we ride


© Robert Cordrey Oct. 2023

Why We Ride

Robert Cordrey, lyrics, vocals, video production Scott Collingwood, lead guitar and fills, soundtrack production Band in a Box, Leonardo.ai, Kyber.ai Mixed and Mastered in Studio One 6

  Prayer Wheels

we left them singing
guitars sliding haunting the dawn 
where shanty children drag their wings
to the Highway of Kings

on our horizon
see them run they run my love
ghostly gleaming horses pure as thoughts
when the Father tied these knots

I would bless and honour your days
signs of a solitary road
steer the other way
when dogs are at our heels
I`ll help you turn 
your prayer wheels

change my antenna
tumbledowns in blooms of such beauty
this is your world roots in the mud
your lotus blooms above

I would bless and honour your days
signs of a solitary road
steer the other way
when dogs are at our heels
I`ll help you turn 
your prayer wheels

tires spin and heal 
our promise turns
prayer wheels

© Robert Cordrey March 2020

Prayer Wheels

Robert Cordrey, lyrics, vocals, video production Scott Collingwood, lead guitar and fills, soundtrack production Band in a Box, Leonardo.ai, Kyber.ai Mixed and Mastered in Studio One 6

Dread

stone eyes hide their fires
I turn from what I saw
livestream in technicolour
from the furnace of war
melt my core

I fence out darkness
camped behind bright lights in their eyes
diplomats sip their wine
another desert flower dies
in dreams I try

to take a boat by the compass moon
carry that refugee from this doom

there she sits in the rubble
by the poisoned river bank
Micheal Angelo`s Madonna
holding her broken man
the glass spills its sand

stone eyes hide their fires
I refuse to look
stars turn to shrapnel
saints tire of their water walk
its all just talk

teach me to live that I may dread
the grave no more than my bed
teach me to die that I may wake
my sister my brother no more forsake


        
© Robert Cordrey 2017

Dread

Robert Cordrey, lyrics, vocals, video production 
Scott Collingwood, lead guitar and fills, soundtrack production 
Band in a Box, Leonardo.ai, Kyber.ai 
Mixed and Mastered in Studio One 6

Moral Mathematics

The Night In Question

its important to remember
please face the jury try to recall
who erased the code the ultimate download
scratched on the wall

recovered from the scene
pages of Mammon the unloaded gun
yet you say he promised no revenge
in the beauty to come

evasion evasion
on the night in question
you disavowed this fool
touching broken faces in low places
mending God`s shoe
ooohoooh
mending God`s shoe

in the absence of a body
are we to believe a mistrial conclude
the disgraced witness in outlandish dress
from zona lumierre rouge

evasion evasion
on the night in question
you disavowed this fool
touching broken faces in low places
mending God`s shoe
ooohoooh
mending God`s shoe

bandages undone speaking in tongues
the light saw you
ooohoooh
the light saw you
ooohooh
mending Gods shoe

rpt/fade

© Robert Cordrey Oct. 2019

The Night In Question

thanks to RayC for bass:
https://soundcloud.com/rayc

Dark Star Cathedral


read me your needle Dark Star Cathedral
all systems go gauges floored
counting from ten we take off on amen
light breaks through the door
light breaks through light breaks through
light breaks through the door

boys in helmets our rust box welded
for holes in science prepared
this is Dream Eclipse 876
strapped in saying a prayer
strapped in strapped in this is your captain
strapped in saying a prayer

battered hopeful where it don`t show
the crew of Dark Star Cathedral

stick to your mission I copy your vision
keep the Prime Directive intact
never repeat mistakes in space
with gods and girls make contact
gods and girls gods and girls
make first contact

this is Dream Eclipse 876
come in Dark Star Cathedral
more than carbon genius trumps jargon
aliens are my kind of people
aliens aliens blue with radiance
my kind of people

battered hopeful where it don`t show
the crew of Dark Star Cathedral


© Robert Cordrey August 2020

Swoon

Robert Cordrey, Ray Cochrane and Scott Collingwood

BrokenRhyme

ScottC lead & slide guitar
RayC  rhythm guitars & bass
RobertC vocals
with thanks to Xabarovski Krai for outro vocals

video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1pBQs1PmgI&feature=youtu.be

 
     Dictators` Dance

Napoleon hides his hand in his shirt
Vladimir plotting behind a smirk
Sadam Hussein munching Doritos 
Mussolini chats up Pol Pot and Tito

big it up with gold go mad for marble
a myth size mirror let music sparkle
take your partners in the palace of pain
dictator`s dancing round my brain
coup coup coming for you

Noriega cuts the rug with the CIA
Imelda`s new shoes get in the way
the fuhrer can`t lead if you won`t follow
that Vienneses waltz is hard to swallow

big it up with gold go mad for marble
a myth size mirror let music sparkle
coup coup coming for you
take your partners in the palace of pain
dictator`s dancing round my brain
coup coup coming for you

lifestyles of the kitsch and famous
we are revolting who can blame us
pigs are taking over the farm
up on two legs with style and charm

big it up with gold go mad for marble
a myth size mirror let music sparkle
coup coup coming for you
take your partners in the palace of pain
dictator`s dancing round my brain
coup coup coming for you

Edward 8th or Pinochet
Salazar and Ceaucescu you say
Tito, Assad and Idi Amin  
Gaddafi or Jackson in his day

Duvalier or Kim Jong Un
Stalin, Rhee or Mao ZeDong
Leopold & Nicholas the twos  
DJT and Xiaoping it's true

MBS or Lukashenko
Musharraf and Louise fourteen
Il Papa, Bolkiah and Franco
Bainimarama,now Duterte comes clean



© Robert Cordrey Nov. 2020

Dictators` Dance

Emperor of the Unworthy


in drowsy dawn dust recedes
clapped out Suzuki
the man who plows the green sea
hand on heart and hoe my friend for centuries

made on a lathe of whisky and work 
he`s the hard bark staff
Noah leaned on leaving the Ark
sent out to the field to beat back the dark

shake the sand out of your pan
take the roughcut stone left in your hand
set him on the altar
at the muddy feet of Buddha
in a world gone topsy-turvy
he`s the emperor of the unworthy
hey heyhey hey
hey heyhey hey

each trampled ant every falling leaf 
I swoon in shade
watching sermons under the Rain Tree
my friend the hunchback planting light into the sea

shake the sand out of your pan
take the roughcut stone left in your hand
set him on the altar
at the muddy feet of Buddha
in a world gone topsy-turvy
he`s the emperor of the unworthy
hey heyhey hey
hey heyhey hey


© Robert Cordrey Oct. 2020

Emperor of the Unworthy

'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?
 No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine,
 making the green one red' Macbeth

     Incarnadine

her lips correct my eyes
my eyes forgive her tongue
unstrung her pearls all undone
a game of forfeits to the end
we lose to ascend
ascend

my reason mind my child`s eye
fears the painted devil sly
her diamond dagger carves a sign
Incarnadine
my curse my anodyne

false face must hide
hide what the false heart knows
crows tear the bloody rose
a game of forfeits to the end
we lose to ascend
ascend

all the seas she turns to red
my better senses all are fled
her diamond dagger carves a sign
Incarnadine
the bread and the wine

© Robert Cordrey Jan. 2021

Incardine

Signs and Wonders

in the ruins of a song
radio radiation
ripples of a sandstruck bell

call us to witness
crimes of obedience
vines crack the walls of our cell

gripped in talons
steel clone falcons
scan your heart from the king`s hand

in streets lie bleeding 
doves stopped believing 
wings were never meant for man

they say no price is too great
will against fate
open the flood gates

gargoyle judges angels on crutches
lovers in towers
signs and wonders
in anothers eyes

a tear to cover your day
a breaking wave 
wash the stain away

militant mystics childrens logistics
angels in towers
signs and wonders
in anothers eyes

in the ruins of a song
radio radiation

© Robert Cordrey Dec, 2020

Signs and Wonders

Things You Didn`t Say

you`re a dark horse on a good day
a black sheep on the rest
late to learn 
getting late to learn

I watched you from the barricades
ride back into the flames
felt you burn
I felt you burn

I was painting the rainbow
when you shot the waterfall
saw you turn
I saw you turn

you became a poem
the blazing ember of a day
I became the poet
of things you didn`t say

my heart was racing
reading Dharma Bums
heard you cry
I heard you cry

from your lockup in Tangier
flying too close to the sun
my falling sky
in my falling sky

you became the moon
your shadow falls far away
that`s how I found the box
of things you didn`t say

you became a poem
the blazing ember of a day
I became the poet
of things you didn`t say
brother brother did I get it right
in my way

Robert Cordrey, April 2016

Things You Didn't Say

Spirit Level is the band project of:
ScottC https://soundcloud.com/scottt709,
2 Bit Mystic, a singer/songwriter from Vancouver Island
https://soundcloud.com/user-564042721.
Spirit Level music videos:
https://www.youtube.com/@SpiritLevel-ge3hm

Spirit Level

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