Kubla Khan
Prolific Lyrics

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree,
Kubla Khan ordered the construction of a grand palace in Xanadu.

Where Alph the sacred river ran through caverns measureless…
The sacred river Alph flows through caverns that are unmeasurable.

…Down to a sunless sea,
The river Alph eventually flows into a sea that is without any sunlight.

I hold the image of the moment given - broken visions,

The artist recalls scattered thoughts and images from a particular moment in time.

Watching smoking women blowing kisses with the smoke they're spinning,

The artist observes women blowing smoke kisses in a mesmerizing manner.

The solemn tone is vivid, lost inside my own condition,

The singer is lost in thought and doesn't pay attention to his surroundings.

Reading poems I've written even though I know that - no one listens….

The singer writes poetry not expecting anyone to read or listen.

This motion sickness, moves the masses like a mastodon,

The constant movement of people resembles a gigantic mastodon.

That passes on the master's song through the ashes of a vagabond,

People pass on the knowledge they have learned from their masters.

I drink a glass of calm, and glance across the table,

The artist drinks a calming drink and looks around the room.

At a man hand who has hand on his drink - scratching off the label,

The singer observes a man scratching off the label of his drink.

Old gypsy walks in the door holding a bouquet of dying roses,

An old gypsy enters holding a bouquet of wilting flowers.

Most people pay no mind and don't take the time to notice,
Most people don't pay attention to the gypsy's arrival.

I feel like saying something along the lines of life is hopeless,

The singer feels like expressing thoughts on life being meaningless.

But I'm too busy buying shots and overdosing on Ibuprophin,
The singer is too busy taking alcohol and ibuprofen.

I was hoping she'd move straight toward the sad lovers,
The artist expected the gypsy to approach the sad lovers.

Or try to hustle the business man reading adbusters,
The artist expected the gypsy to try and sell something to the business man.

But she came right to me,
and said I have something, that I bet you'd like to see,
The gypsy approached the singer directly and offered to show him something.

I said please, I've had a long night and to top it off I'm single,
The singer declined the gypsy's offer, citing exhaustion and being alone.

I don't need a flower plus I don't have any money I can give you,

The artist refuses to take the gypsy's flower as he has no money to offer in return.

He looked back without a word and plucked a rose from the stack,
The gypsy took a rose from the bouquet and gave it to the artist without saying anything.

Placed it in my hand and left before I saw the note attached,

The gypsy placed the rose in the artist's hand and left without the artist noticing a note attached to it.

The rose was black, the pedals frail and weak,

The rose was black and the petals were delicate and feeble.

The shade strange as it was both pale and deep,
The color of the rose was peculiar in that it was both light and dark.

Out to the vacant street,
The singer goes out to the deserted street.

My home for three long nights,
The singer has been staying on the street for three nights.

To tear the letter open to read beneath the neon lights…
The singer wants to open the note and read it under the neon lights.

(scratching)
The sound of something being scratched is heard.

The center won't hold, inside this empty dream,

The center of the artist's being cannot be sustained within a meaningless reality.

This endless stream of consciousness that's constant on this benzedrine,

The singer's thoughts flow endlessly on like they are on a stimulant drug.

Amphetamines… pumping pressure pounding through the blood,
Amphetamines are forcefully pumping through the singer's veins.

In a heart grown cold from never housing human touch,
The artist is emotionally frigid from a lack of human contact.

Cut, to the street confused and unattached,
The scene cuts to the artist being lost and disengaged on the street.

So far out I knew there wasn't any coming back,
The artist feels so far gone that he cannot return.

The poem provoked a sudden flash, you can call it an epiphany,
The poem prompts a sudden realization or insight.

That put my life in check and let me find my place in history,
The realization helps the artist establish his place in history.

Consider me, a fly buzzin on the fly paper,
The singer sees himself as a fly stuck on fly paper.

"You can snuff me out now or let me die later,"

The singer makes an appeal for someone to either kill him now or let him die later.

Eyes dilated, with feelings way beyond the flesh,
The singer's eyes are wide with emotion that go beyond physical sensations.

Until my train of thought was broken from its place of calm and rest,
The artist's thoughts are interrupted from their state of peace.

On my left, an old man with a tattoo of Jesus on his chest,
An old man with a tattoo of Jesus is situated to the artist's left.

Flinching as pretentious prophets scream to him that "God is Dead"!
The old man is recoiling as others shout that God is dead.

He looks to me I nod my head, then slide inside the nothingness,
The old man looks to the singer and the singer nods before disappearing into empty thoughts.

To feel that druggish drip that always lies inside my sunken ribs,
The artist desires to feel the effects of drugs in his body.

I need another hit at 5 am,
The artist needs more drugs at 5 in the morning.

With eyes as wide as giant skies when time won't end,
The artist's eyes are as vast as an endless sky.

I left the streets then, gliding moving calm,
The singer leaves the chaotic streets and moves calmly.

On a trip to Xanadu to talk with Kubla Khan…
The artist embarks on a journey to Xanadu to speak with Kubla Khan.