Most of the songs on Out There Somewhere were based on real life events, but “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” uses a pure parable of a famous wonder of the ancient world. The lyrics imagine the construction of the of the ancient world wonder and how insane this must’ve felt to all involved, who were in no way guaranteed success. This is actually a very personal theme to myself as an allegory for coming up with a new music project while those in the past may have not met with great success (“a ghosted tower leaves its shadow in the sand of a previous failed attempt by man”). The point here was at some point the designers of these hanging gardens had to take a chance.
The simple musical arrangement is built around a delicate, finger-picked acoustic riff that I developed in the early 1990s but never really found its place over the subsequent three decades. Also, this song is in a very odd key as I de-tuned my acoustic half a step for it, and overall it remains as a quite simple arrangement.
Ric Albano – vocals, guitars, piano, organ
Composed by Ric Albano on September 9, 2019
From the album Out There Somewhere by Ric Albano
Released October 24, 2020
Listen to the Song:
Lyrics
Tranquil sky box, where I really do enjoy our lucid talks
As we levitate above the fray
Daylight melts to dusk as we regulate the corps on their final thrust
To conclude the edict of the day
This world needs more marvel, more beauty to view
Ascending from the desert subterfuge
A ghosted tower leaves its shadow in the sand,
Of a previous failed attempt by man
The terrace rocks as the artisans install the building blocks
And the vision rises from the haze
This city needs its splendor so we’ve got work to do
To cultivate the gardens’ bloom
Desire of sweet Amytis for mountain air to breathe
Is this bound by remedy or is it discrete?
Is the legend just poetic or is it concrete?
Can we really raise the tree roots up high?
Can we really make the earth touch the sky?
An ancient sky box, lost to time’s perpetual clocks,
Can it be discovered another day?
Another day, some other day
© 2019-2020 Ric Albano & Cygnus Wave Records. All Rights Reserved.
Track 8 of 13 from Out There Somewhere by Ric Albano (2020)
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