Strength to Remain is inspired by Bruegel the Elder's 'Fall of Icarus' and WH Auden's poem 'Musée des Beaux Arts'. In it, the sea as an unbeatable obstacle comes to stand for unbreachable separation.
Inspired by the Flamenco 'Soleá'.
Lyrics
Seems like it wasn't nothing,
The path that I asked me to trea,
Taken the wings from beneath me,
Can't see the shores up ahead,
Got all of the past to guide me,
But only the stories told,
The sun that you'll see will blind me,
And the water you swallow is cold.
Some have hope and some have pain,
but I've got the strength to remain,
A thousand miles have no name,
but I've got the strength to remain,
I've got the strength to remain.
I always thought you would see me,
With your sails that swallowed the sun,
Or standing there on the hilltop,
But I wasn't the only one,
An unimportant failure,
Don't lift your head to the sky,
No miraculous saviour,
Waves and fallen cry.
[Chorus]
I saw my own reflection in the palace that we built,
But there ain't enough gold in this world to cover up my guilt,
And I told you it wasn't nothing,
The path that I asked me to tread,
You've taken the wings from beneath me,
And I can't see the shores up ahead.