The Rising (Bruce Springsteen)

Foto: Gustavo Corti, una mano sulle rocce del Rwenzori, Giugno 2006

Can't see nothin' in front of me
Can't see nothin' coming up behind
I make my way through this darkness
I can't feel but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far I've gone
How far I've gone, how high I've climbed
On my back a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile line

Come on up for the rising
come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Left the house this morning
Bells ringing filled the air
Wearin' the cross of my calling
On wheels of fire I come rollin' down here

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Spirits above and behind me
Faces gone, black eyes burnin' bright
May their precious blood forever bind me
Lord as I stand before your fiery light

I see you Mary in the garden
In a garden of a thousand sighs
There's holy pictures of our children
Dancin' in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel my blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin' on the end of the line

Sky of blackness and sorrow (a dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (a dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness (a dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear (a dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow (a dream of life)
Your burnin' wind fills my arms tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life)
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life (a dream of life)

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Born Free (Kid Rock)

foto: Pizzo di Gino, in Cima, Gennaio 2011

Fast, on a rough road riding
High, through the mountains climbing
Twisting, turning further from my home.
Young, like a new moon rising
Fierce, through the rain and lightning
Wandering out into this great unknown.

And I don't want no one to cry,
But tell 'em if I don't survive:

I was born free!

Free, like a river raging
Strong, if the wind I'm facing.
Chasing dreams and racing fathered time.
Deep like the grandest canyon,
Wild like an untamed stallion.
If you can't see my heart you must be blind.

You can knock me down and watch me bleed
But you can't keep no chains on me.

I was born free!

And I'm not good at long goodbyes,
But look down deep into my eyes,

I was born free!

Calm, facing danger,
Lost like an unknown stranger,
Grateful, for my time with no regrets.
Close to my destination,
Tired, frail and achin',
Waitin' patiently for the sun to set.

And when it's done believe that
I will yell it from that mountain high!

I was born free!

I will bow to shining seas
And celebrate God's grace on me!

da "Solid Rock" (Dire Straits)

foto: Mario Spinola, salendo il canale dell'Arera, Dicembre 2010

I wanna live on solid rock
I'm gonna live on solid rock
I wanna give I don't wanna be blocked
I'm gonna live on solid rock
I'm solid rock now

Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen)

foto: Mario Spinola, finalmente a casa, Novembre 2009

The screen door slams
Mary's dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch
As the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again
Don't run back inside
darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me

You can hide 'neath your covers
And study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers
Throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a savior to rise from these streets
Well now I'm no hero
That's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl
Is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey what else can we do now
Except roll down the window
And let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night's busting open
These two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back
Heaven's waiting on down the tracks
Oh oh come take my hand
Riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road
oh Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
Hey I know it's late we can make it if we run
Oh Thunder Road, sit tight take hold
Thunder Road

Well I got this guitar
And I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back
If you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride it ain't free
And I know you're lonely
For words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free
All the promises'll be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes
Of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets

They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch they're gone
On the wind, so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers
And I'm pulling out of here to win.

Lode alla Bellezza (il Duca)

foto: Enrico Porro, sulla parete nord del Cassandra, Giugno 2010

La melodia che leggera scivola dal violino, bellezza
Il tocco dolce del vento di primavera, bellezza
I colori sfumati nel cielo che fiorisce, bellezza

Lo sguardo amato di quella fanciulla, bellezza
La pennellata del pittore bergamasco, bellezza
Il silenzio immenso della savana, bellezza

Il ricordo di sorrisi e amici lontani, bellezza
La magia della solitudine commossa, bellezza
Il sapore che solo la grappa sa regalare, bellezza

Il mare che gorgoglia malinconia, bellezza
La curva perfetta, bellezza
Il tintinnio della pioggia sul marmo gotico, bellezza

Sweet Jane che canta, bellezza
L’immensità dell’albero nella foresta, bellezza
La poesia che sgorga da una lacrima, bellezza

La notte carica di freddo e stelle, bellezza
La neve felpata che odora di silenzi lontani, bellezza
Un abbraccio amico nel giusto momento, bellezza

Socrate che parla alla bianca Atene, bellezza
La mente che tace nell’alba rossa, bellezza
Il graffio dopo la battaglia, bellezza

Una carezza silenziosa come la pace, bellezza
Le righe di Arwen, bellezza
Il gran fiume che scorre baciato dal sole, bellezza

Gli occhi della Vergine in quella chiesetta, bellezza
L'antica mia casa al margine del bosco, bellezza
I muscoli che si contraggono gridando vita, bellezza

Le pallide nebbie sospese tra i faggi, bellezza
Il calore del fuoco, bellezza
Polenta, vino e lei che guarda, bellezza

Le mie montagne
e tutto ciò,
perché la bellezza non è solo lontana idea
ma l’ideale stesso che qui palpita sgranando il cuore.

Streets of Love (Rolling Stone)

foto: Mario Spinola, In viaggio nell'immensità del Bernina, Agosto 2010

You're awful bright, you're awful smart
I must admit you broke my heart
The awful truth is really sad
I must admit I was awful bad

While lovers laugh and music plays
I stumble by and I hide my pain
The lamps are lit the moon is gone
I think I've crossed the Rubicon

And I, I, I, I, I, I, I
Walked the streets of love
And they're full of tears
And I, I, I, I, I, I, I
Walked the streets of love
And they are full of fears

While music pumps from passing cars
A couple watched me from a bar
A band just played the wedding march
and the cornerstore mends broken hearts
A woman asked me for a dance
Oh, It's free of charge just one more chance

Oh I, I, I, I, I, I, I
Walked the streets of love
And they are full of tears
And I, I, I, I, I, I, I
Walked the streets of love
For a thousand years

You had the moves, you had the cards
I must admit you were awful smart
The awful truth is awful sad
I must admit I was awful bad

And I, I, I, I, I, I, I
I walked the streets of love
for a thousand years

And I, I, I, I, I, I, I
I walked the streets of love
and they're drenched with tears
And I, I, I, I, I, I, I
Walked the streets of love
For a thousand years

Glory days (Bruce Springsteen)

foto: il Duca, Nebbie in Presolana, Ottobre 2010

.

I had a friend was a big baseball player

back in high school

He could throw that speedball by you

Make you look like a fool boy

Saw him the other night at this roadside bar

I was walking in, he was walking out

We went back inside sat down had a few drinks

but all he kept talking about was

.

Glory days well they'll pass you by

Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye

Glory days, glory days

.

Well there's a girl that lives up the block

back in school she could turn all the boy's heads

Sometimes on a Friday I'll stop by

and have a few drinks after she put her kids to bed

Her and her husband Bobby well they split up

I guess it's two years gone by now

We just sit around talking about the old times,

she says when she feels like crying

she starts laughing thinking about

.

Glory days well they'll pass you by

Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye

Glory days, glory days

.

My old man worked 20 years on the lineand they let him go

Now everywhere he goes out looking for work

they just tell him that he's too old

I was 9 nine years old and he was working at the

Metuchen Ford plant assembly line

Now he just sits on a stool down at the Legion hall

but I can tell what's on his mind

.

Glory days yeah goin back

Glory days aw he ain't never had

Glory days, glory days

.

Now I think I'm going down to the well tonigh

tand I'm going to drink till I get my fill

And I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it

but I probably will

Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture

a little of the glory of, well time slips away

and leaves you with nothing mister but

boring stories of glory days

.

Glory days well they'll pass you by

Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye

Glory days, glory days

Not yet dark (Bob Dylan)

foto: Mario Spinola
Cercando la via fra la neve d'estate
Agosto 2010

Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day
It’s too hot to sleep, time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I’ve still got the scars that the sun didn’t heal
There’s not even room enough to be anywhere
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

Well, my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there’s been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing what was in her mind
I just don’t see why I should even care
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

Well, I’ve been to London and I’ve been to gay Paree
I’ve followed the river and I got to the sea
I’ve been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain’t looking for nothing in anyone’s eyes
Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

I was born here and I’ll die here against my will
I know it looks like I’m moving, but I’m standing still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can’t even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don’t even hear a murmur of a prayer
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there

Me (il Duca)

foto: Chiara Sala, danzando con la roccia, Giugno 2010

Se anche dovesse crollare tutto il mondo,
se anche tutto dovesse sparire,
ciò che sempre resterebbe nella mia anima
è la bellezza delle montagne.

E da lì sempre il mio cuore
pulserebbe l'essenza del mio spirito.

Saggezza di un Grande Capo (Noah Sealth)

foto: Enrico Porro, verso il Cassandra, Giugno 2010

Sono un Pellerossa
e non comprendo nulla.
Noi preferiamo il soave sussurro del vento sull'acqua
rinfrescato dalla pioggia di mezzogiorno
o profumato dall'aroma di pino...

Gli uomini bianchi comprano le nostre terre
come si può comprare o vendere il firmamento?
o il calore della terra? Se non siamo padroni
della freschezza dell'aria, nè del rumore dell'acqua,
voi come farete a comprarli?

Ogni zolla di questo terreno è sacra alla mia gente
L'acqua limpida che scorre nei fiumi e nei ruscelli è anche
il sangue dei nostri antenati.
Se vi vendiamo le nostre terre,
dovete ricordare che sono sacre,
e che ogni riflesso,
ogni gorgoglio dell'acqua del lago e dei ruscelli
racconta la vita della nostra gente.
La voce dell'acqua è la voce del padre di mio padre.