THE GREY HILLS
Music by Babb and Groves
Lyrics by Babb
Wide stretch the grey hills beyond our ken
Where roam the sad, haunted shadows of men
Why do they roam 'neath the leaden sky
Heedless of doom, for they are doomed to die
Searching in vain, yet unceasing they seek
Ever they look though their chances are bleak
Ever they climb the grey hills, then descend
Down hopeless trails which wind and wend
'Mid the grey hills
'Neath leaden sky
Wander the weary men
Searching for dreams long flown
Dreams best left forgotten
Once they were told of a pool hidden well
'Mid the grey hills by a powerful spell
This is the lure, ever drawing them on
There, they are told, all their dreams have gone
If they could find the insatiate well
Plead with the spirit which in it doth dwell
Then might their dreams come rushing back home
No more 'mid sorrowful hills would they roam
'Mid the grey hills
'Neath leaden sky
Wander the sons of men
Searching for dreams long flown
Years have they squandered in search of their visions
Dreams best left forgotten
What feeds the pool wherein their dreams were drowned
The tears of children who in sorrow found
The world was broken and by one, betrayed
Their faith in dreams was doomed to fade
And so, to and fro
They roam in search of this
Though knowing they seek it in vain
Doomed are the sons of men
Searching for dreams long flown
Doomed are the sons of men
Who search for dreams of their youth
Years have they squandered in search of their visions
Dreams best left forgotten
Better to dream
Dreams that have yet to be dreamed
The album takes off nicely with David Longdon's "The Strangest Times", but then gets into immediate free fall and deeply underwater for the next few tracks, quite unexpectedly. Fortunately, it recovers with Nick D'Virgilio's "Apollo" (hey, this guy CAN write good music, although he hides this ability most of the time) and the remaining three tracks, one of which is another Longdon masterpiece. So in the end the final impression is somewhat in the positive range. Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)
In the wake of buying the Welcome To The Planet I also went for this older "EP" (clocking in on 70 minutes a rather big big EP...) as a final farewell to a very bright bright star that sadly doesn't shine anymore. Carsten Pieper
The Long Island metal band's third album etches arena-sized hooks into their jagged compositions, deftly balancing experimental and poppy inclinations. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 12, 2022
What can I say about Big Big Train that I haven’t said before?
This album took a little while to grow on me but by the time I saw it live I was in love with its humongous, over-egged pomposity! They do it all with such passion, excitement and amazing musicianship.
Essential. Crinklechips