Hearing voices might make you wonder if you’re going crazy. But what if you find someone else who’s getting the same message?

I wanted to explore a mysterious parasensory experience, in a Lovecraftian vein, but with the possibility that maybe the mysterious force will turn out to be the salvation of humanity?

It struck me while writing that finding common experience with another human being is probably at least as valuable as believing that you’re not crazy.

Many thanks to Katie Marks for her terrific voice and for playing the character of the transported academic with such guts and enthusiasm, and patience!

lyrics

    the song of a thousand voices
    whispers in my ear
    the story it tells is held
    between our hope and our fear

V1:
in Jakarta, Odessa, and Istanbul,
Alexandretta and Bengbu
i see the same sign and hear the same phrase
and it's spoken just for me

in Oaxaca, Colombo, and Abengourou,
and a jungle-eaten ruin in the north of Peru,
i hear the same phrase and i see the same sign
and it's pointing to the sea

    the song of a thousand voices
    whispers in my ear
    i'd like to pretend i don't know how it ends
    and it’s all that i can hear

V2 - she:
i built drones to collect all the data
found the centers of mass in 3D
connected the mean isothermals - cuz -
a whale doesn't see what we see

    a literature search turned up nothing
    until i expanded the terms

by an inclement word i am suddenly stirred
i delete all my files as my vision is blurred

    the night of a thousand dances
    instantaneously ancient and key
    i know what it means, but i doubt what it seems
    and it's all that i can see

V3 - he:

from this ruthless depression i finally woke,
got a new set of clothes, a good meal, and a smoke
made my way to this pier and found you standing here;
do you think it could still be a joke?

    the night of a thousand dances
    brought you here to me tonight
    [both:]
    and though we dive into darkness,
    i know that we go into light

    [she:]
    the song of a thousand voices
    brought you here to me tonight
    [both:]
    and though we dive into darkness,
    i know that we go into light

    [both - he/she:]
    the song/night of a thousand voices/dances
    brought me here to you tonight
    and though we dive into darkness,
    i know that you know that we go
    into eternal light

parts

tjw: bass ukulele, electric bass, electric guitar, synth drums, vocals
Katie Marks: vocals
image: processed from Mother and baby sperm whale by Gabriel Barathieu