Steven WILSON

The Raven That Refused To Sing and other stories

(2013)

1. Luminol 12'10
(Steven Wilson)
2. Drive Home 7'37
(Steven Wilson)
3. The Holy Drinker 10'14
(Steven Wilson)
4. The Pin Drop 5'03
(Steven Wilson)
5. The Watchmaker 11'42
(Steven Wilson)
6. The Raven That Refused to Sing 7'57
(Steven Wilson)

Total Time: 54:43

  • Steven Wilson — Lead Vocals, Mellotron, Keyboards, Guitars, Bass Guitar On "The Holy Drinker"
  • Guthrie Govan — Lead Guitar
  • Nick Beggs — Bass Guitar, Chapman Stick On "The Holy Drinker", Backing Vocals
  • Adam Holzman — Keyboards, Hammond Organ, Piano, Minimoog
  • Marco Minnemann — Drums, Percussion
  • Theo Travis — Flute, Saxophone, Clarinet

    Additional Musicians:

  • Jakko Jakszyk — Additional Vocals On "Luminol" and "The Watchmaker"
  • Alan Parsons — Guitar Solo On "The Holy Drinker"
  • Strings Arranged By Dave Stewart, Performed By The London Session Orchestra And Recorded At Angel Studio 17th October 2012 (Soloist - Perry Montague-Mason)

    Produced And Mixing by Steven Wilson
    Alan Parsons - Associate Producer, Recording Engineer
    Brendan Dekora - Assistant Engineer
    Conceived And Illustrated by Hajo Mueller
    Final Layout by Carl Glover




    1. Luminol

      Here we all are
      Born into a struggle
      To come so far
      But end up returning to dust

      Oxfam panache tips his hat
      (Laces undone)
      He has no truck with idle chat
      (Work to be done)
      The songs he learned from scratched LP's
      Stops in mid-flow to sip his tea

      He strums the chords with less than grace
      (Songs we all know)
      Each passing year etched on his face
      (Sun, rain or snow)
      The words he sings are not his own
      They speak of things he'll never know

    2. Drive Home

      Cold windowpane
      A car upturned in the rain
      Wait on in vain
      Don't try to bear the blame
      Deal with the pain
      Dust down your wings again

      You need to clear away
      All the jetsam in your brain
      And face the truth
      Well love can make amends
      But while the darkness always ends
      You're still alone
      So drive home

      Pause without end
      A moment in time suspends
      How could she leave?
      Release all your guilt and breathe
      Give up your pain
      Hold up your head again

      You need to clear away
      All the jetsam in your brain
      And face the truth
      Well love can make amends
      While the darkness always ends
      You're still alone
      So drive home

      Drive home
      Drive home

      Drive home
      Drive home

      Drive home
      Drive home

      Drive home
      Drive home
      (Drive home)

    3. The Holy Drinker

      The holy drinker and his curse
      In constant serfage to unquenchable thirst
      And from his stupor the night gives birth
      The devil rises from right out of the earth

      With shaking hands and blackened heart,
      The glass he pours, this time it's also the last
      In rapt communion with himself
      The holy drinker is going straight into hell

      His coffin was made from a tree
      Please hammer a nail in for me
      The bottle slipped right through
      Plague pits now underground
      Take me down... down...
      Put me in chains...

    4. The Pin Drop

      Carried away by the river
      That passes through bulrushes on to the sea
      Dragged by the current
      To rest on the stakes of the breakwater shaded by trees
      Beginnings and endings
      Love intersecting a rift that will break us apart

      [Repeat x2]
      Love learned
      In turn
      Dreams burned

      I am tired of struggling
      And the rain is beating down on me
      I tried to be the way that he wanted me to be
      I did not hear the pin drop down
      I did not hear my heart

      I have not lived and loved enough
      Things are left unsaid, undone
      It was not meant to be like this
      Drifting off without a kiss
      We built our love, we built our ark
      Nothing ends before it starts
      I cannot feel my arms and legs
      I don't deserve this bitter end

      [Repeat x2]
      Love learned
      In turn
      Dreams burned

      I am tired of struggling
      And the rain is beating down on me
      I tried to be the way that he wanted me to be
      I did not hear the pin drop down
      I did not hear my heart

    5. The Watchmaker

      The watchmaker works all day and long into the night
      He pieces things together despite his failing sight
      Though all the cogs connect with such poetic grace
      Time has left its curse upon this place

      Each hour becomes another empty space to fill
      Wasted with the care and virtues of his skill
      The watchmaker buries something deep within his thoughts
      A shadow on the staircase of someone from before

      This thing is broken now and cannot be repaired
      Fifty years of compromise and aging bodies shared
      Eliza dear, you know, there's something I should say
      I never really loved you, but I'll miss you anyway

      Well, you were just meant to be temporary
      While I waited for gold
      We filled up the years and I found that I liked
      Having someone to hold
      But for you I had to wait
      Until one day it was too late

      [Repeat x3]
      Cogs and levers mesh
      We are bound in death
      Melt that silver down
      I'm still inside you

    6. The Raven That Refused to Sing

      Sing for me,
      Sing for me.
      You can come with me;
      You can live with me.

      Heal my soul,
      Make me whole.

      Sister, I lost you,
      When you were still a child,
      But I need you now,
      And I need our former life.
      I'm afraid to wake,
      I'm afraid to love.

      But just because I'm weak,
      You can steal my dreams.
      You can reach inside my head,
      And you can put your song there instead.
      Please, come to me.
      Please, stay with me.

      Please,
      Sing,
      Cry,
      Cry.

      Sing to me, raven,
      I miss her so much.
      Sing to me, Lily,
      I miss you so much.

      Sing to me, raven,
      I miss her so much.
      Sing to me, Lily,
      I miss you so much.

      Sing to me, raven,
      I miss her so much.
      Sing to me, Lily,
      I miss you so much.