Tales Of Brave Ulysses
Trouble Lyrics


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[Cream cover]

You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever,
But you rode upon a steamer to the violence of the sun.

And the colors of the sea blind your eyes with trembling mermaids,
And you touch the distant beaches with tales of brave Ulysses:
How his naked ears were tortured by the sirens sweetly singing,
For the sparkling waves are calling you to kiss their white laced lips.

And you see a girl's brown body dancing through the turquoise,
And her footprints make you follow where the sky loves the sea.
And when your fingers find her, she drowns you in her body,
Carving deep blue ripples in the tissues of your mind.

The tiny purple fishes run laughing through your fingers,
And you want to take her with you to the hard land of the winter.

Her name is Aphrodite and she rides a crimson shell,
And you know you cannot leave her for you touched the distant sands
With tales of brave Ulysses; how his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing.





The tiny purple fishes run lauging through your fingers,
And you want to take her with you to the hard land of the winter.

Overall Meaning

The song “Tales of Brave Ulysses” tells the story of someone who has escaped from the cold, gray winter by taking a ship to the tropics. The warm sea and bright colors intoxicate and mesmerize them as they are surrounded by mermaids, turquoise waters, and a beautiful brown-skinned girl named Aphrodite. The singer is enraptured by her beauty and follows her, getting lost in her embrace as she takes him deep into the ocean. The song takes inspiration from the story of Ulysses in Greek mythology, who similarly set off on a journey and encountered many perils along the way, such as the sirens. The song's psychedelic sound complements the surreal imagery of the lyrics, creating a vivid and dreamlike experience for the listener.


Line by Line Meaning

You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever,
You believed that the dreary winter days would never end and it would lead to your downfall.


But you rode upon a steamer to the violence of the sun.
However, you boarded a steamer that took you to the hot and intense rays of the sun.


And the colors of the sea blind your eyes with trembling mermaids,
The shades of the sea confuse you with the scared mermaids, making your eyes tremble.


And you touch the distant beaches with tales of brave Ulysses:
You come closer to the faraway coasts by talking about the brave Ulysses's heroic tales.


How his naked ears were tortured by the sirens sweetly singing,
How the Siren's soothing singing painfully tortured Ulysses, even though he didn't have anything on his ears.


For the sparkling waves are calling you to kiss their white laced lips.
The shining waves lure you to kiss their lacy white lips.


And you see a girl's brown body dancing through the turquoise,
You notice a girl's tanned physique dancing amidst the bluish-green water.


And her footprints make you follow where the sky loves the sea.
Her footprints lead you to follow the direction where the sky meets the sea.


And when your fingers find her, she drowns you in her body,
And when you touch her, she engulfs you in her body, and you lose yourself.


Carving deep blue ripples in the tissues of your mind.
This feeling carves out lasting impressions in your thoughts that resemble deep blue ripples.


The tiny purple fishes run laughing through your fingers,
You see the minuscule purple fishes happily slipping through your fingers.


And you want to take her with you to the hard land of the winter.
You want to take her away with you to the harsh winter land.


Her name is Aphrodite, and she rides a crimson shell,
The girl's name is Aphrodite, and she rides a bright red-colored shell.


And you know you cannot leave her for you touched the distant sands
You understand that you cannot let her go as you've already felt the faraway shores only through her.


With tales of brave Ulysses; how his naked ears were tortured
With the stories of brave Ulysses and how the sirens tortured him, even though he didn't have anything on his ears, as your reference point.


By the sirens sweetly singing.
Again mentioning the Sirens' enchanting singing that led to Ulysses's torture.


The tiny purple fishes run laughing through your fingers,
Repeating how you see the small, berry-colored fishes gleefully slipping away your hands.


And you want to take her with you to the hard land of the winter.
Again emphasizing on the urge to take her to the difficult land of winters.




Contributed by Mila M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

Helium Road

I love covers that don't try to duplicate the original exactly. Taking a Cream song and making a metal version is an awesome tribute to a kickass band from the old days. I like metal musicians who don't forget their roots in heavy blues.

Rusty Nutz

I think Clapton himself would approve of this masterpiece.

Soham Sali

For sure!

MkDragan1

I always loved Cream's version, but I have to confess to liking this one somewhat better: it's darker, more sinister, weirder...

Dennis Young

Like something one might hear in a hypoglycemia nightmare, just before waking up, shaking, in a puddle of sweat.

Bib Number 666

This cover makes me shiver. These guys are fantastic weird sound.

jannyrcobs

There was a whole other side of '80s heavy metal that never got proper coverage--it simply got passed off as 'alternative rock', usually owing to the labels for which the groups recorded. Soundgarden finally got proper recognition in the '90s after falling under the Seattle 'grunge' banner; but Trouble, St Vitus, Voi Vod, Fate's Warning and numerous other forgotten bands never got the respect they deserved. In the '80s, it was glammy 'hair metal' or thrash--all other new bands were ignored.

Bill Mason

Every era of popular music is like this. A handful or artists will get the lion's share of attention and many other brilliant artists are forced to fight for scraps. The reality of the music industry is, raw talent and good song writing only provides an opportunity to succeed. Many other things have to align just right for artists to truly "make it big".

Queen Elizabeth

Probably the best doom metal!!!!

jm1072

Who gives a shit what anyone thinks is "better", just dig it.

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