He also produced the hugely successful Year Of The Cat album with Al Stewart and two albums with American progressive rock band Ambrosia. In 1975 he met Eric Woolfson who not only became his manager, but joined forces with Alan as a songwriting and performing partner for what became known as The Alan Parsons Project. The APP’s debut album, Tales Of Mystery And Imagination, based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, paved the way for a signing to Clive Davis’ newly launched Arista label and a string of hit albums, namely I Robot (1977), Pyramid (1978), The Turn of a Friendly Card (1980), Eye in the Sky (1982), Ammonia Avenue (1984), Vulture Culture (1985), Stereotomy (1986) and Gaudi (1987). A brief venture into musical theatre resulted in Freudiana in 1990.The show ran for over a year in the historic Theater An Der Wien in Vienna. Eric and Alan then went separate ways. Eric devoted his career to the musical theatre while Parsons felt the need to bring his music to the live concert stage and to continue to record conceptual symphonic rock music. With his long-standing previous APP collaborators, guitarist Ian Bairnson, drummer Stuart Elliott and orchestral arranger Andrew Powell, Alan dropped the "Project" identity for Alan Parsons - Try Anything Once in 1994. The partnership continued for On Air in 1996 and The Time Machine in 1999. During this time the first incarnation of "Alan Parsons Live Project" toured to sell-out audiences throughout the globe.
Following Alan’s relocation to California, a new Live Project band was formed in 2003. The album A Valid Path, Alan’s foray into Electronica was released in 2004 and featured Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, The Crystal Method, Shpongle, Uberzone, PJ Olsson and Alan’s son, Jeremy. 2008 saw the reissue of all the Alan Parsons Project albums in expanded form, containing never-before-heard bonus material and a 2-CD compilation called The Essential Collection. One of the most familiar Project tracks is Sirius, perhaps best known as the Chicago Bulls theme and more recently as walk-on music for The New Orleans Saints at their triumphant Superbowl game in 2010.
Alan’s latest venture is an instructional series about recording called The Art And Science Of Sound Recording. See www.artandscienceofsound.com. All Our Yesterdays, a song written especially for the series, features some of LA’s finest musicians and a rare performance by Alan on lead vocals. Alan lives in Santa Barbara, California with his wife Lisa and her two daughters, Tabitha and Brittni, four dogs, a lop-eared rabbit, and an 18-hand Clydesdale called Dante.
So Far Away
Alan Parsons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Show us all what you can do
We need a man with vision
So we put our trust in you
And now we hope sincerely
That you'll do the best that you can do
Oh, for sure it won't be easy
Some will try to break us
And cut us down to size
But just remember there can be no consolation prize
Not in our eyes
It's a long way to go
We can't wait one more day
We need someone to light up the way
We may run out of time
Can you hear what we say?
Because heaven is so far away
Although time is getting short
There's still some sand left in the glass
And now we have a living breathing
Rocket man at last
It's time to take a step
And nail our colors to the mast
No more talk of great adventures
When it's movement that we need
It must be our intention
That we never lose the lead
So count us down to zero and let's get up to speed
We're up and away
It's a long way to go
We can't wait one more day
We need someone to light up the way
We may run out of time
So believe what we say?
Because heaven is so far away
And so now they cry for justice
As if justice will be done
But the eye up in the sky
Was flying too close to the sun
The Challenger has fallen
And the race has now been run
The song "So Far Away" by Alan Parsons is a song about space travel and the immense risks associated with it. The song has a very motivating and uplifting energy, as it tells the story of a mission to space and the people involved in it. The opening lines of the song are inviting the listener into this mission and expressing the hope that the person or people joining it will do their best. The lines "We need a man with vision/So we put our trust in you/And now we hope sincerely/That you'll do the best that you can do" set the tone for the song as one of trust, hope, and determination.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the mission is not an easy one. The lines "Oh, for sure it won't be easy/And we'll have to risk our lives/Some will try to break us/And cut us down to size" highlight the dangers involved. However, the song emphasizes the importance of the mission and the people involved in it. The lines "But just remember there can be no consolation prize/Not in our eyes" emphasize the importance of success and the recognition that there are no second chances in this kind of mission.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the urgency of the mission, as they are running out of time and need someone to "light up the way." The lines "Because heaven is so far away" refer to the idea of the vast expanses of space that must be traversed on this mission. The final verse of the song references the Challenger space shuttle disaster, which occurred in 1986, just a few years before the song was released. The lines "And so now they cry for justice/As if justice will be done/But the eye up in the sky/Was flying too close to the sun/The Challenger has fallen/And the race has now been run" are a tribute to the crew of the Challenger and a powerful reminder of the risks involved in space travel.
Line by Line Meaning
We say welcome to the mission
We greet you as you take on this task.
Show us all what you can do
Let us see your capabilities on display.
We need a man with vision
We require someone with foresight.
So we put our trust in you
We bestow our faith in you.
And now we hope sincerely
We fervently wish,
That you'll do the best that you can do
that you will perform to the best of your ability.
Oh, for sure it won't be easy
Undoubtedly, the task ahead poses difficulties.
And we'll have to risk our lives
We will have to put our lives on the line.
Some will try to break us
Certain individuals will attempt to defeat us.
And cut us down to size
They will try to undercut us.
But just remember there can be no consolation prize
However, we cannot accept a lesser reward as a form of consolation.
Not in our eyes
In our perception, we cannot be satisfied with less.
It's a long way to go
The journey we are embarking on is lengthy.
We can't wait one more day
We do not have the luxury of waiting any longer.
We need someone to light up the way
We require someone to guide us.
We may run out of time
Time may be limited.
Can you hear what we say?
Do you comprehend our words?
Because heaven is so far away
Because our objective is distant.
Although time is getting short
Despite the dwindling time remaining.
There's still some sand left in the glass
There is still some time remaining.
And now we have a living breathing
And now we possess a living,
Rocket man at last
Finally, we have a person capable of spaceflight.
It's time to take a step
The moment has arrived to progress.
And nail our colors to the mast
And to declare our allegiance firmly and publicly.
No more talk of great adventures
Enough discussion of exciting escapades.
When it's movement that we need
We require forward motion.
It must be our intention
We mustn't lose sight of our objective.
That we never lose the lead
That we remain ahead of the competition.
So count us down to zero and let's get up to speed
Commence the countdown for takeoff and accelerate.
We're up and away
We have launched successfully.
And so now they cry for justice
And therefore, people now demand fairness.
As if justice will be done
As if justice will be carried out.
But the eye up in the sky
However, the space shuttle,
Was flying too close to the sun
Was operating unsafely.
The Challenger has fallen
As a result, the Challenger spacecraft crumbled.
And the race has now been run
Thus concluding the contest.
Lyrics © SOROKA MUSIC LTD., THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robbie Stewart
Excellent song with Christopher Cross providing vocals. I wouldn't mind seeing Alan and Christopher collaborating on more "projects." He would make an excellent replacement to Eric Woolfson as demonstrated by this song together. In fact, this should have been Christopher Cross' es comeback, but "On Air" suffered from the fact that it did not have a major record label promoting and backing it like Alan had when he was signed to Arista Records. Still, this is one that's worthy of my .mp3 player's playlist.
Largo Minorlein
Melody.... Harmony..... Voice.... Feelings..... Choral.... Instrument..... 💙
Silvano Mendes da Silva
Uau que voz do Christopher juntos com essa banda maravilhosa que show de 1996 ouço até hoje Brasil Forever vamos voltar a ser uma grande nação
Eduardo. Bernardo
Muito bom...
drumdad54 sdl
Just one of many many fine tracks on this very nice CD.
Ciro Cabrera
Excelente Tema. Esto si es musica!!!
arg
QUE DUPLA! .... MI AMIGO ALAN (Y SUS INCREÍBLES ARREGLOS) Y MI OTRO AMIGO CHRISTOPHER, LOS CHICOS DE MI BARRIO....que gran canción! NO PODÍA SER MENOS, esto no se escucha ahora lamentablemente
Tory Sarge
I love this song and the band
Clark Clements
You should really listen to this right after Apollo to properly get the correct experience.