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The futility of a life spent chasing ephemeral joys, engulfed in a fictitious, frivolous logic of appearance rather than being. The game of mirrors, the deception of an existence that rejects uncomfortable truths and deceives itself as Plato teaches us in the "Allegory of the Cave."
Evening falls, the lights take on a soft tone; if you feel like going out, I'll take you to that bar at the end of the street. Usually, it's not very crowded, it's little frequented, but Mark is always there, with his guitar, his borderline life, ready to warm your heart with poetry. Stories of ordinary people, loves shipwrecked at the bottom of a glass, the despair and disillusionment in life and the attachment to it (convergence point of an impossible oxymoron) with the desire to tell its facets, its anecdotes to those who are ready to listen. Sit here beside me, order a drink as darkness descends, and the "big night" looms over our heads, over our love entangled in its own anxieties and weaknesses. In these dark hours, I'll give you hope and the promise to hold your hand when the shadows advance in our souls, taking away light and certainties... I'll be the shadow of your name... ("Big Night"). The energy of rock and the sultry voice will comfort you, there's no reason for you to leave,... outside this bar there's no one alive... ("Outside This Bar"), we are here for a specific purpose, you were born to love, ...you were born with just one kiss ("At My Mercy"). The smoke confounds the few shapes moving in here, the ever-dimming lights play nasty tricks resurrecting ghosts from the past, companions of tragic drinks (Gary's Song) and unconfessable confessions, "there is no dignity when one must live within the confines of a kiss" (Nightwatchman). In free fall, on a backward path, one has to come to terms with the conscience, accept one's failures,... the same scene of failure every night... ("Mom's TV"). The daylight is still far away and, although the night travels in the same direction as dawn, it seems impossible for the darkness to give way to light.
Forgive me, my dear friends, for indulging in a detour from my usual track-by-track path, not properly dwelling on Pearson's excellent bass lines ("Big Night" among all), on the talented, highly skilled guitarist Vudi (excellent in "Asleep" and "Clouds"), on the admirable choral and homogeneous musicality that pervades the entire album but, the grace, power, and magnetism of Mark Etzel's lyrics overshadow anyone close to him.
Human fragility and prisons of the soul alternate in Engine (Frontier, 1987) and in all A.M.C.'s works. A journey through the frustrations, fears, and expectations of the human race, somatized in the figure of Etzel, a poet lent to music, a damned soul in the circle of life that still today captivates those willing to give him a bit of attention, sipping a glass at the counter, in the usual place, at the end of the street.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
06 Outside This Bar ()
The hospital wouldn't admit you
So we go home again
Right back to the same old room
Right back to the same old thing
But you know you're just another girl
Come from some carry-out in hell
You're just another story how they fucked up the life
Of a sweet girl
We'll sit and look at the street
Watch the El Dorados roll by
You can't look your murderers
You can't look them in the eye
But you know they can always spot you
From a mile away
They give you anything you want
They'll do anything you say
And outside this bar there's no one alive
Outside this bar how does anyone survive
Together you and me
you know we've gotta destroy this world
C'mon darling we've gotta destroy this world
And I remember when
Your girlfriend would put you on display
You'd be the life of the party
Til they come and drag you away
But in the end we'll watch the pattern
As it begins to tear
We'll see the chaos that's underneath
All the clothes that the angels wear
And outside this bar there's no one alive
Outside this bar how does anyone survive
Together you and me
you know we'll never destroy this world
C'mon baby I wish we could destroy this world
Outside this bar
Together you and me turn this quiet night into silence
Together we'll turn this love into violence
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