Lyrics from the album "Ingenious Plans"
*
House Burned
Down
Music and Lyrics
by John Phillip Korbel. Copyright 2014.
The
blast was caused by a gas leak
Thank
God the kids weren’t at home
All
that’s left are the ashes
My
wife cried on the phone
As
I stood looking up through the hole in the roof
Divested
of all that I owned
I
felt a sense of perfect peace
The
like of which I had never known
Chorus:
Glory,
glory hallelujah, hallelujah
Fire
freed my spirit from a cold, suburban tomb
Singing
glory, glory hallelujah, hallelujah
My
house burned down
Now
I can see the rising harvest moon
A
forest fire is raging
Through
the British Columbia pines
The
fire’s heat releases the seeds
That
the pinecones hide inside
And
the flames are clearing the undergrowth
To
make a place where saplings can thrive
From
the ash of former lives
Phoenix
rise, taking flight
Chorus
In
a supernova’s fiery furnace
Band
new stars are forged
Shine
new light throughout the galaxy
Middle-age
killed youthful dreams
But
brand new dreams were born
Hold
my hand and watch the moon with me
Chorus
*
Earth and Stars Hymn
Music Traditional and John Phillip Korbel. Lyrics by
John Phillip Korbel. Copyright 2014
I learned that all of our ingenious plans
Are subject to our human frailty
When I watched The Challenger’s courageous crew
Touch the face of God Almighty
O, the flickering light of a falling star
Serves to remind us of what we are
Be humble, for you are made of earth
Be noble, for you are made of stars
Three kings with the shepherds and their flock by night
Gathered ‘round The Holy Family
The Star of Bethlehem’s electric light
Shines on the replica Nativity
O, the wondrous light of a guiding star
Serves to remind us of what we are
Be humble, for you are made of earth
Be noble, for you are made of stars
Moses and Elijah at His left and right
His face shining like a supernova
The Sons of Thunder blinded by the light
His clothes white like the Cliffs of Dover
O, the radiant light of the brightest star
Serves to remind us of what we are
Be humble, for you are made of earth
Be noble, for you are made of stars
*
Burning Lawrence
Music and Lyrics by John
Phillip Korbel. Copyright 2014.
William Quantrill and his raiders
rode in 1863
Burned the town of Lawrence, Kansas
down to ash
How I wish to God that city’d never
risen like a phoenix
Then I never would have crossed my
lover’s path
Chorus:
I wanna burn the town of Lawrence
to the ground, burn it down
I wanna burn the town of Lawrence
to the ground
I used to love a gal from Lawrence,
went there every-other week
‘Cause she said that we’d get
married by and by
But a circuit-riding preacher said
he knew it was God’s will
That she grant him certain favors
on the sly
Chorus
Well, you say it seems outrageous
to wanna punish a whole town
For the actions of one cheating
girl and boy
But due to Helen’s indiscretion, O,
a thousand ships set sail
And Agamemnon set ablaze the walls
of Troy
*
Old John Brown
Music and Lyrics
by John Phillip Korbel. Copyright 2014.
His
left hand held a Bible while his right hand held a gun
With
his left foot in Gehenna and his right in Kingdom Come
To
undo the great injustice, he would wade through southern blood
And
though they hanged him, his soul goes marching on
Virginia
hanged him, but his soul goes marching on
Chorus:
Was
Old John Brown an angel or a devil come from hell?
Was
Old John Brown an angel or a devil come from hell?
On
this earthly side of the Great Divide no mortal man can tell
If
John Brown was an angel or a devil come from hell
In
response to Sumner’s caning and for Lawrence burning down
As
retribution for the crimes against each Kansas town
With
broad swords in the moonlight, he hacked five people down
While
their wailing widows watched with their poor children
For
only total war would free God’s captive children
Chorus
His
raid on Harper’s Ferry ushered freedom through the door
His
failure sparked the fire of our bloody Civil War
In
time his death would help to galvanize the North
And
Union soldiers sang his praises as they marched to war
And
Union soldiers sang his praises as they marched to war
Chorus
Moses
said to Pharaoh, Oh you let my people go
But
Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he stubbornly said No
So
the Lord sent forth a plague of blood, in the waters blood did flow
Like
the blood that stained the water red at Shiloh
Like
the blood that stained the water red at Shiloh
*
Just Like Amelia Earhart, She’s Long Gone
Music and lyrics by John Phillip Korbel, Copyright 2014
With her lips pressed to my lips in a parting Judas kiss
I felt a sense of loss at odds with Kansas City’s summer weather
When her plane took off into the sky
My eyes were wet; her eyes were dry
I couldn’t figure why ‘till I went home and found the letter
Just like Amelia Earhart, she’s long gone
Flying away from me into the setting sun
At the airport I stood and stared
Watched her vanish in the air
Just like Amelia Earhart, she’s long gone
A failed search and rescue, there’s no wreckage here to sift through
She said goodbye and ditched our love into the open sea
Where she’s now I have no notion
Perhaps the bottom of the ocean
No clues have washed ashore, so there’s no closure here for me
Just like Amelia Earhart, she’s long gone
Flying away from me into the setting sun
At the airport I stood and stared
Watched her vanish in the air
Just like Amelia Earhart, she’s long gone
I’ve not a single clue, not a Cat’s Paw shoe
Even after the beaches have been combed
Though Gardner Island keeps its silence
And the ocean keeps her secrets
There are rumors of natives finding bones
But all the theories that I hear always sound so insincere
So I’m left with the undisputed fact
That she chose to fly away on that sunny summer day
And the odds are good she’s never coming back
Just like Amelia Earhart, she’s long gone
Flying away from me into the setting sun
At the airport I stood and stared
Watched her vanish in the air
Just like Amelia Earhart, she’s long gone
