Krikorian is a singer/songwriter, whose songs have been recorded by Charlie Sexton, Bette Midler, Peter Case, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Vanessa Williams, Bonnie Raitt and others. He is most commonly regarded as a Christian artist, and has released several albums of Christian songs starting with Romeo Unchained (1986); prior to that, he was decidedly a secular artist.
Krikorian and Alan Shapazian (rhythm guitar) formed a band called The Raik's Progress which recorded one single for Liberty Records, released in 1967. In 1973, he appeared as a member of the former Buddy Holly backing band the Crickets on their album "Remnants".
By 1978, Krikorian went solo, adopting the name of Tonio K, possibly a reference to the Thomas Mann novel Tonio Kröger, with Life In The Foodchain.
Krikorian is featured as lead vocalist on the song "Don't Fade Away." from the Crickets & Their Buddies album, released in the summer of 2004.
Another Day In Limbo
Tonio K. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mountains grey as velvet, field for dots of yucca, white and jacarandas,
Facing the sky, as the day burns away, is a desert in mourning,
Sheltering the dead stones, cradle of the lost bones,
Home of eternal comings and goings.
Blinking away the sunrise,
Listening to the wind blow,
Beckoning fire from Heaven when everything seems so stone-cold,
Beating the drums of change,
Another day in limbo.
Pray for the foothills, goatherds, and windmills, and satellite dishes,
Petroglyph talkers meet iron-willed walkers, who grant them no wishes,
Shaking a fist at the air seems to bring on a blackening sky,
In the crackling of embers, old men remember walking in beauty, in the dawns of their lives.
Blinking away the sunrise,
Listening to the wind blow,
Angels with dirty faces face another day in limbo,
Beckoning fire from Heaven when everything seems so stone-cold,
Beating the drums of change,
Another day in limbo.
Pray for the foothills,
Iron horse with four wheels bucks a drunken rider,
Pawns of the porn kings, corn-silk of heartstrings, tattered and blighted,
They sing in the sand for the son of the land, who sought fire in water,
Faith like a kernel, rising up in thermals,
Hope springs eternal once in awhile.
Blinking away the sunrise,
Listening to the wind blow,
Angels with dirty faces face another day in limbo,
Beckoning fire from Heaven when everything seems so stone-cold,
Beating the drums of change,
Another day in limbo,
Blinking away the sunrise,
Listening to the wind blow,
Angels with dirty faces face another day in limbo,
Beckoning fire from Heaven when everything seems so stone-cold,
Beating the drums of change,
Another day in limbo.
The song "Another Day in Limbo" by Tonio K. is a melancholic yet hopeful portrayal of life in the foothills, where power lines hum and rock doves coo. The mountains, an everpresent presence in the background, are described as velvet-grey, with dots of yucca and white jacarandas. The desert seems to be in mourning, and the stones are home to the lost bones of those who have gone before. Despite this, the foothills are a place of eternal comings and goings, where hope springs eternal.
The verses of the song describe different scenes from life in the foothills. The second verse is particularly vivid, depicting the conflict between the petroglyph talkers and iron-willed walkers. The latter, representing modernization and exploitation, grant the former no wishes. The old men in the foothills remember walking in beauty during the dawns of their lives, but now the air seems blackened, and their fists shake in anger.
Throughout the song, the chorus "Blinking away the sunrise, Listening to the wind blow, Angels with dirty faces face another day in limbo, Beckoning fire from Heaven when everything seems so stone-cold, Beating the drums of change, Another day in limbo" is repeated after each verse. The "angels with dirty faces" are the people who live in the foothills, facing another day without knowing what the future holds. But they are not resigned to their fate. Instead, they seek to beckon fire from Heaven and beat the drums of change, hoping for a better tomorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
Pray for the foothills, home to the drone of power lines and rock doves,
Let's hope for the well being of the foothills, where the droning sound of electric lines and rock doves echo.
Mountains grey as velvet, field for dots of yucca, white and jacarandas,
The velvet-colored mountains serve as a bed for the yucca's white dots, and jacarandas make it more captivating.
Facing the sky, as the day burns away, is a desert in mourning,
The skyward-facing desert mourns face-to-face with the scorching sun as daylight fades.
Sheltering the dead stones, cradle of the lost bones,
The desert protects dead rocks and lost bones in its loving arms.
Home of eternal comings and goings.
It's the home of perpetual traffic in and out.
Blinking away the sunrise,
Waking up for a new day.
Listening to the wind blow,
Hearing the wind whistle.
Angels with dirty faces face another day in limbo,
People with a troubled past are trapped once again in their precarious present.
Beckoning fire from Heaven when everything seems so stone-cold,
Praying for a miracle to happen when everything seems hopeless.
Beating the drums of change,
Making lively music to inspire change.
Pray for the foothills, goatherds, and windmills, and satellite dishes,
Let's extend our prayers to the goatherds, windmills, and satellite dishes scattered throughout the foothills.
Petroglyph talkers meet iron-willed walkers, who grant them no wishes,
Petroglyph speakers bump into steel-nerved pedestrians who refuse to listen to them.
Shaking a fist at the air seems to bring on a blackening sky,
Shaking your hand in frustration seems to earn you more shadows in the sky.
In the crackling of embers, old men remember walking in beauty, in the dawns of their lives.
In the sound of embers burning, old men recall the daybreaks of their wistful lives.
Iron horse with four wheels bucks a drunken rider,
A car throws off its drunk passenger.
Pawns of the porn kings, corn-silk of heartstrings, tattered and blighted,
People at the mercy of porn moguls, whose heartstrings are as perishable as corn silk and have been exposed to decay.
They sing in the sand for the son of the land, who sought fire in water,
They sing tunes in the sand for somebody whose quest for the impossible led him to seek fire in water.
Faith like a kernel, rising up in thermals,
Their faith, like a grain, rises in the air.
Hope springs eternal once in awhile.
Hope is renewed from time to time.
Contributed by Lily E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.