This song is number 5 in the original cycle; it is, in other words, the 5th song on the 1st demo album, which is called "(The Null Plane) Where Twin Soap-Bubbles Embrace" (finished in the Autumn of 2003).
It was recorded under mysterious circumstances at Estenstad between the 20th and the 22nd of August 2003 - I actually have no recollection of recording it, I merely discovered it among my files at some later date. As far as I remember, there are at least two different mixes of it out there, with different vocal takes.
I do remember writing the actual song though, at the tail end of my sojourn in Oslo the previous year (?), and humming it while nightwalking through the streets around St.Hanshaugen.
The song was inspired by HAM the Astrochimp, whose story I am very moved by. I was considering the fact that the reward for his dangerous mission was "a well-deserved apple", and then toying with the idea that this could hopefully be an apple out of the ordinary ... like the one mentioned in "the Apocryphon of John" in the Nag Hammadi library, for instance. [How fitting, by the way, that he was rewarded an apple for defying gravity!]
In addition, since there is an Egyptian theme running through those old albums, this song also represents Thoth within that pantheon.
The song has been performed live on several occasions, both solo and with a full band. I really hope to record a studio version with a full band someday, as that arrangement is radically different from the demo, although the guitars still sound as if they have been welded together from wrecked satellites ...
lyrics
Rise, my friend
Above the hungry men
That reach for the stars
Their gift to you
Is not what you would choose
If you only knew
Leave, my friend
Come never down again
Find somewhere new
Keep the core
We won't need it anymore
The damage is done
The thirsty hands
Are climbing the blue pavilion
Where the dogs went before us
Where the stars were opened up
By the apple of knowledge
Remember
There are five roads into space
credits
from Muscae Volitantes,
released August 14, 2013
Terje Øverås: Vocals through cheap microphone, Telecaster, Santa Cruz F/E 672 - everything is run though a Boss GT-5.
supported by 8 fans who also own “Climbing the Blue Pavilion”
Excellent medieval folk, IGR, & those with ears to hear. I love the sense of mysticism and deep, introspective ponder this album conveys, & the honest down-to-earth folky lyrics. Simply wonderful yet soulfully rich. Highlights for me are tracks 2, 5, 6, & 12. IGR truly capture what I feel is an authentic sense of a medieval bard at a woodland rill pondering the mysteries of life. Highly recommended. 8.5+/10. Alrihkh
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