Blue Oyster Cult - Magna Of Illusion Lyrics

this feels like something that would be played in an indiana jones style disneyland ride

Cornwall and the harbor
Where witches went mad more than once and
Until this day
In dreams at least
The lighthouse at Lost Christabel
Squat and hugely tilts
Upon the strand where Grandad's house was built
And having stood the test of time
The starry gale the bloody tide
Grandad's house though gaped with hooks
And filled with books
Could stand no more until
A certain prophecy
Once read - now stood
Before the world fulfilled

Now of these books in Grandad's keep
Some of them were new but mostly they were old
And the oldest was a scroll
A prophecy that read
When the riddle begins
The story will end

August the First 1892
And in the guise of destiny
Grandad quit Cornwall
"I'm a captain of a ship
My ship is charmed, and called Plutonia."

Stories on land, storms at sea
'Tween 1892 and '93
When Grandad sailed for Mexico

Ships charmed and ordinary
Sailed the glidepath to the sun
And when the sun proved false
As it always does
Some of them would be lost
And some would sail back home
It was no star
But a magna of illusion
I mean by that
The mirror found
In the chamber of jade grown like a seed
Deep within the ground
The mirror found
By one man
So on and off again
He sailed the Europe's rim
On and off, off and on
Until his time had come

Through tears and smiles
The last domain
The rods of broken crystal
On and off, and off again
Until his time had come
Late to the story that had been
But early to the riddle not yet begun

August the First 1893
The charmed ship Plutonia
Sailed like a ray into Cornwall
And none too soon it seems

That night the Captain's granddaughter
Would celebrate her birthday
"I've come a long way,"; said the Captain
"From Lost Christabel this night
Accompanied by my dog familiar
To blast your rafters with my surprise!
Granddaughter, it's a foreign mirror
Taken from the jungle by crime!"

Stories on land, storms at sea
'Tween 1892 and '93
When Grandad sailed for Mexico

When tables collapse
And floors have filled
And the party's over, it's all over
Sea-dogs and rockers will dwell on doom
I've warped the stuff of ground
What seems to be is not
Behind closed eyes
Realize your sight
Mine, granddaughter, proves a surprise
More light than sun
More dark than night then
More a snare than lust

Brilliant album! Very underrated in its time, but recognized as a classic in the present day--as it should be. <3333333

This and Frankenstein are the best tracks on the album for sure.

This album has some of the best chorus lines in history.

This revelation in mind, Imaginos decides that the time has come to reattempt his aborted mission to Mexico. On August 1, 1892, he sets sail aboard a "charmed ship" which, despite "storms on land and storms at sea," delivers him faithfully to Mexico. After several months exploring the jungles of Yucatán he finds an undiscovered Mayan pyramid. Following a long passage into the interior of the pyramid he discovers a chamber carved from solid jade, in which he finds the "Magna of Illusion", a twin of Dee's magic mirror. Stealing away with the artifact, he returns to Cornwall a year to the day of his departure, which coincides with the tenth birthday of his granddaughter. Imaginos gives the mirror to the young girl as a birthday present, and for the following 21 years it sits collecting dust in her attic, silently poisoning the minds of European leaders. In 1914, "World War I breaks out. A disease with a long incubation" ("Magna of Illusion").

The two songs excluded from the final release introduced further elements to the plot. "Gil Blanco County", a song with music written by Allen Lanier for Soft White Underbelly in the late 1960s and recorded in the unpublished Elektra album of the Stalk-Forrest Group (now available as St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings), has short and elusive lyrics apparently detailing the escape of Imaginos from Texas to Arizona. The other song, "The Girl That Love Made Blind", is an Albert Bouchard composition which explains that Imaginos' powers include the capacity of moving "in and through time", assuming different identities in every moment of history. - Wikipedia

So this album isnt a total loss....having said that, it should end at 4:04

Get that roll of tin foil and point it up on my head? ..and I will sit in the dark and wait for you till quicksand comes?

awesome !

Awesome song !!!

more light than sun, more dark than night. yep!

And more a snare than lust.

I prefer Buck's vocals.

Is there any way a fan collaboration could finish this album? A lot of the other tracks would just have been remakes of existing songs. Were there demos or at least lyrics for any of the new ones? The Internet is full of wasted talent. I don't see why not.

John Titor Lets do it John

muito foda

Hello my cultists, the Biedermann here! That's me on rhythm a gibson es 335. RobbieKrieger plays the leads on this one as well as some rhythm.

WTF? 1st of all thank you for you contributions, then and now, I just saw Ray Wylie Hubbard last week and he was just going on about his 59 es 335 .
Right now I am thinking that all of that was to prepare me to just say hello to you and check out , oh I just found it, on his new heavy hitter. so much you real guy's know and have to share.I really am tickled pink to just say hello to you, Here is that RWH song if you haven't heard it. https://vimeo.com/219437584

Please Mark don't think that I was being rude because this is BOC is my favorite song off of my favorite album. I bet I could listen for day's to all of your stories and the songs that you have played with so many talents.
Nobody asks me to play with them. Reasons why also. lol
Take care Mark, I have got to try and pick you out if I can.

I knew you played on "I Am The One" too bad there isn't a track by track listing of musician credits. I do know this, 99% of the keyboards that you hear on this album are me. :-).

didnt aldo nova play on it too?

What is this song's story about? It sounds epic!

Arc333Angel oh shit... this is so beautiful

Hi James! but not the real James right?

The main gist is the Grandfather goes to haiti. While amidst all kinds of magic and voodoo he goes into the jungle and digs up a piece of Black glass like Obsidian. This find was not supposed be unburied and worse yet he transports it back to Cornwall gives it to his Granddaughter for her b-day and it resides on a shelf in the study

There the glass stone a piece of "the perfect black" begins it's melee' of evil creation and is the dark evil force that in a linear spiritual time line is responsible for the birth of Hitler and every thing evil.Including WW2

The mirror of Tezcatlipoca.

Just love songs using dates in the lyrics...

And when the sun drew false, as it always does...

Speaking as a composer and songwriter, this song is incredible. So many key changes and each part is equally as catchy.
Epic.

Okay, this is epic!

Typical BOC quirky and hooky.

Crank it up. Great album.

Awesome . Thanks so much for posting. just a great.ensemble of musicians.

I am a fan of old Blue Oyster Cult's sometimes interesting lyrical musings. I would love to hear about the regular reality of how this album came about (meaning the recording of the tracks).

Well I got word that BOC's studio was in SF at Hyde St so I engineered the scenario by booking at Hyde St but not in their room! *5 bucks an hour!Blind Illusion was listening to Metamorphosis of a Monster when Annemaria asked could Sandy Pearlman come in for a listen! more later

That was$85

I never would have associated this with Krieger, it's epic guitar!

was not this whole album written as a demo by Albert Buchard in the beginning? and recorded as a demo with him on vocals?
i guess there was something with it cause he left the band before recording if i remember it right

That's right. However, the version I heard was that Columbia would'nt release this as an Albert Bouchard solo album, but only as a BOC album that was heavily edited.

Meek Mekado Sandy Pearlman wrote alot of this lp with Albert Boucherd. They started it in the seventies. was a long project. incredible LP. rip Allen Lanier.

1 person has illusions about what constitutes music.

3 people's taste drew false...

You know, most of BOC's better songs take some time to warm up to. When I first heard this, it was EASILY the worst on Imaginos, but I've really come to like it. I guess I just didn't understand back then.

I think it's a seasonal thing.

I had the same issue with this album but strangely it grew on me and has become one of my all time favorites.

The stories don't translate easily to the standard musical compositional structure so the band and singers had to try and make something musical that wasn't necessarily intended to be music.

I had a similar experience with the whole album, then when it dawned on me that this was what Secret Treaties was about, then it got my attention and I loved this album,, all of it. Another aspect to needing to warm up to this album is the fact that there are other musicians performing on these tracks besides BOC's band members. Once you get past that, it is very enjoyable.

Easily the worst?!? This is the only good song on that piece of shit

What the hell is Vegeta from DBZ doing on 4:15 ???

jaganjacfan kaka rot!

You no real super sand!

Proto......................Badness. Bitchin!

Storms on land, storms at sea...between 1892 and 1893...

+K.J. Wistrom Every time, I swear that the Captain is saying, "Granddaughter, it's a foreign mirror, taken from the jungle by clowns!"

Me too.

Most of the Imaginos saga has dates in the songs. Mostly to let us know where in time Imaginos is

@Imaginos Desdinova very astute, J4

This is one of my favorite BOC albums! They are awesome story tellers in all of their music but this album capitalizes on their awesome story telling methods.

Great song, great band, great music, great everything! Long Live Blue Oyster Cult!

When I saw this album to witt that House on the clifftop I thought "Fucking Hell, anything ,ANYTHING could happen in that house........So I bought the album .Never regretted it
the Music, the story, the concept.Just blew my mind........If only it had been done as originally envisaged.. Sadly not a record company in this reality has got the balls for that.

That house looks awesome for halloween

larger? you have no idea bro, look up the wiki on it and the BOC faq. larger is an understatement.

OMG, I love youtube - This is the best song of all time...besides Astronomy (Naturally)

Much love to you it is quite a story isn't it?

I'll meet you in the workshop of the telescopes

Unlike BOC collectively, I like THE Imaginos version of Astronomy better..
But this album is jammed packed with their most heavy metal, apocalyptic combinations of songs ever.

Having been in two bands doing arrangements and later working as a producer I have to say - this would be impossible for most singers unless they were a born genius and could work it our for themselves like our man did here.

It's Buck on vocals so yes born genius is about right ...

I have worked in Brasil and I know Iron Maiden is popular there, but yes this band would be a hit in your country if they got noticed. Beijos Julia.

I agree

Being from Long Island I had two older brothers drill BOC int my brain like a nail under a hammer. I do love them and have seen them in concert almost a dozen times. All of their works are gorgeous and brilliant. But this track is just an amazing piece even for them. Blows my mind every time I hear it!

I saw BOC twice at the Day on the Greens Oakland Coliseum (I think it was twice). I also saw them on New Years at the Cow Palace I think this was when I was about 15.I had two favourite bands at this time Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult. I jammed in my room with Some Enchanted Evening with the same guitar that played the solos on The Siege and In the Presence on this album. My 1976 Gibson Black Beauty 3 pickup Les Paul Custom.Thank you Sandy Pearlman and BOC for having me!

Drilled into your brain like a nail under a hammer you say? Fascinating how that would work

I'm a 14 year old girl from Brazil, and I can't stand the fact that bands like BOC, Foreigner and Styx are completely unknown around here, even between the oldest ones....

Out of all the songs, this one has got to be the most difficult to sing. Very little repetition. It's real story telling.

wow great song

awwssooomeeee.

"More light than sun, more dark than night..."

This is one of my favorite--if not my absolute favorite--album of all time. I own both the original CD pressing and the American Beat Records reissue and plan on buying the LP and audio cassette eventually, too.

It's a shame that the saga of Imaginos was never properly told in its original planned format, which was a trilogy of double-albums.

One of my favorites as a teen in high school. Loved the story behind it all. Apparently the writer and manager for the band, Sandy Pearlman, had written these long before ever getting the band together. Imaginos is part 1 of a 3 album rock opera that never was finished.

"Grandaughter, it's a foreign mirror!"

"Taken from the jungle BY CLOWNS!"

I know it's "by crime" but the first time I heard it that's what I thought he was singing :D

How is it that BOC isn't number one in every chart and on every poll. It so blatantly obvious that they are better then everyone else and this album proves it.

I love all of the BOC stuff, but this song, is so cool. And the concept of the entire album goes back to Career Of Evil and THE SUBHUMAN...

Highlander9992003 and ends with Redeemed

@Spirosaur "Hilarious" is not exactly the first word that comes to me listening to that line

Just beautiful.

I love this entire album in all it's awesomeness. But the spoken part is just perfectly hilarious

"Granddaughter, it's a foreign Mirror ! Taken from the Jungle by CRIME !"

I'm a 17 year old girl and just fell in love with this band, especially this song. Its funny, now me and my dad are starting to bond over this band, which he listened to when he was around my age XD

Long live BOC

@Bojoe777NaBl (8 months later) It's actually a poem written by Sandy Pearlman.

@MiddletownDreamz

You missed alot...

Allen at his best....

thinking mans metal? not this album with lyrics like 'now of these books in grandads keep,some of them were new but mostly they were old' this album is a bit uneven for me.the earlier stuff is great though.

FINALLY!! "Magna" is where Imaginos kicked in for me after a dismal first side. Epic sounding, delish imagery, classic BOC...just great...and I will also take "Blue Oyster Cult" and I guess another take of the utterly brilliant Astronomy (although easily my least fave version). The rest I'm not really that bothered about. Too bad we only had the short version of this story.

Oh, definately. Like BOC, their songs are ABOUT something-- And I think they use a thesaurus in writing their lyrics! ;)

BOC is "thinking man's" metal. ;)

This one kind of fills in all the blanks, about the quest for the mirror and its eventual discovery in the "Four Winds Bar". Albert and Joe on background vocals here. An awesome piece of work, this song.

Captivating song, just like all BOC songs

Most of the songs on this album have outstanding depth. Lots of thought, hard work and talent put into this great one!

When Buck sings :"The party's over it's all over" it has that weird David Bowie Ziggy Stardust cabaret feel to it.

beefoneeto and harvester of eyes reminds me of jean genie

Superb!! "Imaginos" must be one of the most underrated albums ever...

very VERY good song. although the Imaginos album has some controversy behind it i still love it! :D