songs from CLOUD ATLAS
by Jason Brauer & Peter Taylor
The Pacific Journal of
Adam Ewing
Memento Moriori
A peaceful tribe two thousand strong
Once speared these seals and walked along
The Chatham shores in ages long
Aye, hearken to their story.
They took what they needed and not bit a more
And he who killed, since days of yore
Defiled his mana, so bloody war
Was just a distant memory.
They turned their cheek and they held on fast
But from the start the die was cast
Remember boys, that nothing lasts
Memento Moriori
Then one sad day came the Union Jack
And their sand was trod by boots of black
For pelts and oil the land was sacked
For the coffers of King Georgie
When fleets of Maori came ashore
Welcomed them in with an open door
But in two short months they were back with more
To stake their claim by takahi.
They turned their cheek and they held on fast
But from the start the die was cast
Remember boys, that nothing lasts
Memento Moriori
A thousand spears end a peaceful spring
A hundred necks meet the axe’s swing
Aye, e’en the empires of the King
Ne’er saw a night so gory
They turned their cheek and they held on fast
But from the start the die was cast
Remember boys, that nothing lasts
Memento Moriori
And now upon the Chatham shore
They number but a mere five score
Who tilled the Maori fields and bore
The mem’ry of their glory.
They turned their cheek and they held on fast
But from the start the die was cast
Remember boys, that nothing lasts
Memento Moriori
Letters from
Zedelghem
The Cloud Atlas Sextet
Half Lives:
The First Luisa Rey Mystery
Secrets
Alone
In California
Wasted reputation, not her father
But her father never warned her
Alone
Stuck with a stranger
The stories he knows engraved in his bones
Have the power to save her
Only a secret
Only a dream
Only a secret
Can bring the serpent to its knees
So tell me your secrets
Everything you keep
Tell me your secrets
While both of us breathe
She knows
But what does that mean?
Caught it a war, it's herself, her life or
What she believes
She knows
The seconds are fading
Typewriter crashes and camera flashes
Lie in waiting
For only a secret
Only a dream
Only a secret
To bring the serpent to its knees
So tell me your secrets
Everything you keep
Tell me your secrets
While both of us breathe
The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish
Maybe Soon
La di di da
La di di da
La da da dum la da da da
La di di da
La di di da
Da do do dum
And it's been getting late
Been having trouble sleeping
Somebody got thrown off the roof
It doesn’t look like they're breathing
Maybe soon, maybe soon
I'll be free
And it's been getting late
Something's not right in my heart
If I don’t get out soon
I might just tear this place apart
Maybe soon, maybe soon
I'll be free
La di di da
La di di da
La da da dum la da da da
La di di da
La di di da
Da do do dum
And it's been getting late
That old age ain't catching up
These people they don’t understand
That I'm about to find some good luck
Maybe, maybe soon
I'll be free
Revolution Song
For Sonmi, for Sonmi
Fabricants rise
They butcher our brothers,
Our sisters, our lives
The endgame is here
Honor our declarations
No time for peace
We must take our Salvation
For Sonmi, for Sonmi
Fabricants rise
They butcher our brothers,
Our sisters, our lives
Unanimity must fall
Seneca warned Nero
Behead the leader
Make the successor a hero
For Sonmi, for Sonmi
Fabricants rise
It’s our time to reclaim
Our SISTERS, our lives
Ft. Ivy Han
An Orison of
Sonmi-451
Sloosha's Crossin'
an' Everythin' After
The Yarn of Zach'ry the Brave
The ol’ Abbess gave her augurin’
Said ol’ Georgie was hungerin’ for his soul
Poor ‘un Zach’ry scared’n’runnin
Hidin’ far ‘way when the Kona came comin’
Just a niner saw his pa’n’brother
Get right’n’cut down red blood cover’d the stones
Zach’ry the Brave done learnt his fate
The ol’ Abbess gave her augurin’
Said ol’ Georgie was hungerin’ for his soul
“Hands are burnin’” Meronym fallin’n’stuck
Zach’ry mem’ried, “let that rope be not cut”
Looked ol’ Georgie in ‘is right evily eyes
Holdin’n’savin on to sweet Meronym’s life
Zach’ry the Brave done lived his fate
The ol’ Abbess gave her augurin’
Said ol’ Georgie was hungerin’ for his soul
“Enemy’s sleeping” just lying’n’breathin’
“Let his throat not be slit,” but the ol’ Abbess din’t see ‘im
Killin’n’muderin’ ‘gainst Valleysmen Law but
Ol’ Georgie stay’d ‘is hand, the Kona soft throat got carved
Zach’ry the Brave done lost his fate
The ol’ Abbess gave her augurin’
Said ol’ Georgie was hungerin’ for his soul
“Bronze is burnin’” Kona soldiers’n’crossbolts
Zach’ry mem’ried “let that bridge not be crossed.”
Steered the horse to the side wit’ a shot o’ pain in ‘is calf
The Kona keeped chasin’n the bridge jus’ collaps’d
Zach’ry the Brave done lived his fate
The ol’ Abbess gave her augurin’
Said ol’ Georgie was hungerin’ for his soul
Meronym carried Zach’ry and leaved into the sun
His ‘hole ol’ world fit ‘tween ‘is finger’n’thumb
Wit’ Meronym’n’the Prescients Zach’ry started a life
Wit’ ‘is father’n’bro’ he leaved ol’ Georgie to die
Zach’ry the Brave done lived his fate