John Sokoloff Band ~The Balloons Of Matilija

source: John S.     2015年6月21日
Words and Music by John Sokoloff (BMI)
Band:
John Sokoloff ~ Piano. Tony Mandracchia ~ Acoustic and Electric Guitars. Denny Croy ~ Bass. Willie McNeil ~ Drums
Alex Kharlamov ~ Sound Engineer

The Balloons of Matilija

The balloons have
long since drifted,
The tinsel swept away...
The din of voices...silenced,
It's just another day.

Where laughter once had reigned
And cheer had once resided
Where music once was heard
And utopia - sighted.

But vertical, the hands of time became
And icy gusts blew candles dry
The mighty steed had turned up lame:
Truth transformed into a lie.

Where once you passed
you now must fail
Life's lesson early learned -
Time is not for sale.


The balloon does drift
through clouds and haze
It drifts, serenely
thru the days

It drifts the nights
o'er plain and hill
and thru
the early morning chill

Drifting to a place beyond
where rainbows smile
and sunsets yawn.
Where misty shrouds
of yesteryear -
elude the desperate
grasp of fear

It floats the fields
and grassy knolls
where fawn-like creatures
bare their souls.
Where perfumed flowers
reach the sky
and hands are held
in manner shy

It sees it all
from up above:
the common branch
of hawk and dove,
A bison sipping
lion's tea,
a cats embrace
of canary..
the boisterous bull
and matador:
sharing vintage, Spanish lore...

Wafting by the balloon foresees:
an end
to all life's agony


The scene shifts
to a dark abyss
A cruel, forbidding
precipice -
from which
a gust escapes
the void,
Motivation - to destroy...

It thrusts balloon
on jagged edge -
a pointed branch
or rocky ledge

A hiss is heard,
then a cry -
The lone balloon
begins to die

It sinks past clouds
and through
the trees
clutching, grasping
for a breeze...
while down below
the rocks await -
harsh practitioners
of Fate...

The balloon quivers,
begins to toss
It's life air
all but lost.
And with what proves
it's final gasp
from balloon -
a wish is cast..

And with that
he fights no more
and succumbs
to canyon floor..

Rainclouds gather
and skies do bleed
drenching ground -
devoid of seed.
The distance darkens
while winds moan dry
up above
the barren sky

But somewhere, somewhere
way beyond -
Rainbows smile
and sunsets yawn,
and misty shrouds
of Yesteryear
elude
the desperate grasp of fear.

The balloons have long since drifted
The tinsel, swept away...
The din of voices....silenced,

It's just another day.