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Dark Acrobat (Aliisa​-​Kissa Tuonelaan)

from Fragments by Cat Lung

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about

An extended track in three parts, Dark Acrobat is a cat origin story based on old-world Finnic (Finnish) mythology: cats help shepherd souls to the underworld (Tuonela), where they can finally rest. "Aliisa-Kissa Tuonelaan" roughly translates to "Alice-cat goes to the underworld."

lyrics

Part I: The Farm

On a hilltop farm,
in a lonely barn,
Alice stakes a claim.
Emerald eyes, teal skies,
all she sees is her domain.
She wakes and sets out at sunrise,
To see what she can see.
Flicks her tail and hones her claws
On an old birch tree.

Alice finds some soft grass
and lays out in the sun
Until a rabbit passes by,
And she begins to run.

Alice is out there, a mystical cat.
Anna’s protector, her dark acrobat.
From Pohjola, the souls call to you,
Alice, will they find their way through?

Greybeard formed her kindly,
Breathed life on a warm stone floor.
Viper claws, wolf jaws, a hunter
Behind the barn door.
She spends her days chasing fat mice,
and sunbeams on the wall.
Nights are spent by the river,
Swatting voles
Where the barred owl calls.

Anna waits by the window
To see her friend return.
Alice patters gently,
Moving past the lady fern.

Alice is out there, a mystical cat.
Anna’s protector, her dark acrobat.
From Pohjola, the souls call to you,
Alice, will they find their way through?

Will-o-wisps call softly
All along the riverbed.
Water’s dark and murky,
So be careful where you tread.
Sun sets ever lower
As she goes along her way.
Pohjola grows closer,
And then she slips away.

Part II: Aliisa-Kissa

Aliisa-Kissa,
Aliisa-Kissa,
Aliisa-Kissa,
Aliisa-Kissa.

Alice is out there, a mystical cat.
Anna’s protector, her dark acrobat.
From Pohjola, the souls call to you.
Alice, you must lead them through.

Part III: Tuonela

The Other Air, the rootless waiting,
Breathing souls
Stranded in the half-light, ‘midst a
Burning shoal.
A cold and cloudless night,
Coyotes on the moor.
Anna waits but Alice will come home no more,
Home no more.

Alice, sacred traveler, we are yearning for
Someone who will lead us through
The open door.
Alice, can you help and guide us evermore?
We are sad and weary, take us to the shore
Of Tuonela!

We’ll rest and leave our worries here
in Tuonela.
Our worldly cares all disappear
in Tuonela.
The white swan circles ever near
in Tuonela,
And sadly sings her
Wondrous songs of Tuonela,
Tuonela!

credits

from Fragments, released April 2, 2023
Pamela Benetti, Diane Crang, Steven Crang, David Beauchesne

license

all rights reserved

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about

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Cat Lung Ann Arbor, Michigan

Cat Lung is an art rock band based in Michigan. Our influences include classic prog, rock and roll, classical, jazz and experimental music.

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