Hell & Back
Rubicon Project
R ubicon Pr oje ct
. . I tried to change the world for good,
but the bastards wouldn't let me !
John Park Inter view with Jamie McDonald, October, 2011
The ‘Rubicon Project’ began
The project, ‘Hell & Back’,
As cliched as it sounds, ‘Hell
in 2001 as I stood at a cross
began soon after a good
& Back’ is the culmination of
roads in life. Left; I went back
friend, Steve Donaldson shared
a lifetime’s inspirations and
to where I started, right; I made
the lyrics for Halloween and
experiences. It’s a journey
a life changing decision. It was
Sphinx with me. Written in
through life representing both
my infamous red pill / blue pill
the mid 80’s, Steve had been
the good and bad; a project
moment.
influenced by the many of the
that’s inspired me to keep
same bands as I, yet despite the
going when all I could think of
fact that we would not meet
was giving up, a light through
for another 10 years, we were
the darkness, an escape during
jointly inspired. It was this era
difficult times.
Back then, I had reached a point of no return, a critical juncture. Ten years on, here I stand, and the notion behind Caesar and the Rubicon has continued to provide constant encouragement in my moments of hardship. So much so has the anecdote aided me, it seemed only fitting to release this, my first album, somehow incorporating its personal significance.
that fuelled my teenage dreams and lead me to spend over 15 years developing what has now become a lifelong passion. This album is my first musical Rubicon; demonstrating my change in direction from covering other’s songs, to writing my own.
The next project will be different, that much I know. Exactly how different, is yet to be decided; a Rubicon yet to be crossed. Until next time,
Rubicon Project
Granite Rocks Instrumental
Halloween The 31st, the woods are black The hellhounds howl in their packs Drunk with fear I start to sweat I know it’s me they’re out to get The silence is shattered by the screech of an owl The animals cower as the demons prowl Pleading for mercy my voice is hoarse All around me is an evil force Halloween the day of death The fire licks up from the devils breath Halloween the night insane The living dead are walking again Sullen trees under Satan’s will Surround their pray poised to kill The lightning cracks in the gathering storm As the hunters sound their deadly horns Halloween the day of death The fire licks up from the devils breath Halloween the night insane The living dead are walking again Halloween the day of death The fire licks up from the devils breath Halloween the night insane The living dead are walking again In the grasp my souls is drained Covered in blood my clothes are stained My mind is ravaged by my foe As I’m slowly pulled down below
Halloween the day of death The fire licks up from the devils breath Halloween the night insane The living dead are walking again, walking again
Halloween the day of death The fire licks up from the devils breath Halloween the night insane The living dead are walking again The living dead are walking your streets Tonight
Sphinx At the dawn of creation The sentinel stands with a watchful gaze Surrounded by the majesty The Sphinx enshrined by the Arten’s rays Aware of one’s own beauty Conquerors of this wondrous land Have come in worship Full of admiration and praise But within the Sphinx lurks A demon behind That controls the gods And competes for our minds Look to me, look look, to me The true ruler of this plateau I alone have the power to control By inspiring the dreams of your pharaoh Look to me, look look, to me To protect the double crown By driving the invaders from our lands And cutting our enemies down The robbers came to sack and plunder Steal the gold from the royal tomb For those who violate the house of Ra Shall pain and death always loom For the sphinx unleashed his hell on earth Banished them from the afterlife Their tortured souls they roam alone Shadows consigned to the gloom
Look to me, look look, to me The true ruler of this plateau I alone have the power to control By inspiring the dreams of your pharaoh Look to me, look look, to me To protect the double crown By driving the invaders from our lands And cutting our enemies down In a body so strong And the head of one so fair I see no latent terror As the call to reverence Drifts through the Cairo air But I now too am self consumed To serve the Sphinx My lord and master Never to see the dawns sunrise I relinquish my soul without a prayer Look to me, look look, to me The true ruler of this plateau I alone have the power to control By inspiring the dreams of your pharaoh Look to me, look look, to me To protect the double crown By driving the invaders from our lands And cutting our enemies down
New Sun Rising Take a look in the eyes of a warrior race They’ll fight to the end, a glorious death they embrace With fanatical conviction they’ll defend their land In the name of peace we must play this hand Red sun rising, not a cloud in sight Enola Gay has flown through the night We can end this now with the flick of this switch Now power up those engines before the blast hits New sun rising A fire in the sky Hotter than the sun, turned to shadows as they run New sun rising, a weapon, for the world to fear New dawn of history, with power beyond all measure No more war for ever, the legacy we treasure There’s a new sun rising, but the black rain is pouring down Heed the growing power of the western nations If we don’t act quick, we will face invasion Build the walls and the bombs, protect this land With victory, destruction and no winning hand Red storm rising A second fire in the sky Hotter than the sun, but a cold war has begun New sun rising, a fallout lasting 50 years New dawn of history, the nuclear generation 50 Years of terror, the legacy to treasure
There’s a new sun rising, paranoia, and suspicion shine
Vote now Let the nation hear your voice
It’s getting ever closer now I can hardly bear to watch But I have no choice The suspense is nearly killing me But the democratic process must hear my voice From the ashes of oppression a new phoenix I owe it to the nation to make my choice rose This is RealiTV Consumed with a hatred of their Western You just don’t know what you’re gonna see foes Distorting the teachings of a righteous man Recruiting for terror, destruction their plan Vote now ‘Cause your time is running out Vote now New sun rising Come on decide who leaves the house A fire in the East Hotter than the sun, hatred burns in You better move quickly now ‘cause the orphaned sons voting’s almost over New sun rising, and all we do is fan the You have just one last chance flames New dawn of history, a suspicious generation Don’t let it slip away A whole new dawn of terror, a legacy to It’s too late treasure There’s a new sun rising but in black clouds Your time has just run out You had your chance it is enshrined About that there can be no doubt It’s no use crying now RealiTV Bites It’s a sorry situation A sad reflection of the apathetic armchair It’s a sign of the situation nation A media revolution fills our lives The cost of the MAD years, the dictator’s powers We watched live of TV as freedom flowered The people rose up to reclaim their land Unleashing hell’s arsenal into grateful hands
I gotta get home from work I wanna see the latest challenge live Will my favourite housemate Make it through the night Welcome to RealiTV Home to the B-list and the wanna-bees Vote now Just push the button and make your choice
RealiTV It’s the place for you and me Leave reality behind Switch it on Switch off your mind
All of my Life As I look into your eyes I hope you realise How I feel You’ve been there through the years Through the happiness and tears Always by my side If you could read the thoughts inside my mind You’d realise, recognise I would never want to be without you All my life Through all the shit life brings I hope you’ll stay with me Grow old with me Let us walk this lifetime journey Side by side No jealousy secrets or lies Behind those blue eyes there’s nothing to hide Nothing to hide from me With you there’s no pretend Always loyal to the end And no need to question why If you could read the thoughts inside my mind You’d realise, recognise I would never want to be without you All my life So much laughter through the years We’ve taken all that they can throw at us Unshakable through this bond of trust We thrive
When I’m near you Or a thousand miles away It’s the thought of being with you That gets me through the day The look upon your face when I walk in through that door This is the place to be the place for me With you forever more If you could read the thoughts inside my mind You’d realise, recognise I would never want to be without you All my life So much laughter through the years We’ve taken all that they can throw at us Unshakable through this bond of trust We thrive
Dreamland A daily flight of imagination Redefines the world we see A constant journey for inspiration Reshapes the realms of possibility
Fill your life with rich new experience Recombine what you know and learn An endless cycle of creativity And realise the dreams you yearn
He’s living in a dreamland A state of constant fantasy A sad prisoner of his own mind Shutting out reality
Don’t live your life, in dreamland Turn your waking daydream visions, into hard reality What’s the point of having dreams, if you’re not gonna make them happen
Explore the riches that surround you Harness the power of your mind Use your dreams to shape the future Connect the sights and sounds you find Ignore the sceptics and the doubters They lack your vision or your drive To make impossibly reality And realise your dreams will thrive He’s living in a dreamland A state of constant fantasy A sad prisoner of his own mind Shutting out reality
Storm-chasers
Out of the stillness of the night Without a warning the nightmare comes to town Moving across the land A trail of death and destruction in its wake Storm-chasers Heading into the eye of the storm It’s time to deploy It’s one last chance to finally make it right We’ll hit head on Heads down boys
Driving through the night Caffeine fuelled heart beating, time is tight The countless miles pass by I tell myself this time we’ve got it right
The data’s streaming down Unlocking secrets inside the deadly shroud It’s time to floor it now If we make it out in time we can win this fight
Pressure’s rising now The satellite feed says were right on it The hail is pouring down The wall cloud up ahead hides the beast inside
Storm-chasers Facing danger, cheating death they just might The innocent hopes they depend Constant pressure, endless days, sleepless nights
es
wake
ght
roud
his
might
ess
Storm-chasers Unlocking secrets of nature’s wrath, its a fight So the innocent we can defend Early warning Safe ‘till morning comes
Out of the Darkness Take a look in the darkness, What do you see In the infinite emptiness A hidden power shapes our destiny The dense remains, Of a burned out soul, Unleashed in a blinding light, From destruction the seed of life is sown A stellar contradiction At the heart of the galaxy Creation or destruction Dark and light battle endlessly When you look in the darkness What do you see In the endless emptiness A distant light, our destiny Will the darkness Suck you in Slingshot don’t get caught It’s the comeback battle We’ve got to win. We hear you We see you All systems they are go It’s time to start the show The event horizon The point of no return Into infinity or oblivion There’s no way home
Twisting and turning Ship and body tortured constantly Were burning, yearning Praying for an end to this Hell we scream Body stretching, guts are wrenching Heart is pumping fear through every vein Head exploding, hull imploding Blacking out from the endless pain. Hurtling through the endless night Ship and body at the speed of light Creation from destruction Journey on for humanity Take a look in the darkness What do you see Even in the desperate times There is always hope there has to be The miracle of time 14 billion years Don’t you ever give up You’re as old as time, born in the heart of a star
What IF? Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it And, which is more You’ll be a man My son Rudyard Kipling 1909 If you can keep your head When those around are losing it You gotta trust yourself Got to leave the doubt behind Through the tiredness wait Don’t listen or deal in lies Don’t give into the hatred Look to good or act to wise It’s not just poetry It can shape your destiny If you can dram on But don’t let them be your master Use your head to plan your way Navigate through the sea of lies Deal well with the bad hands Play well with the good ones Don’t be afraid to take that chance It might be a once in a lifetime plan you play It’s more than poetry It’s a personal philosophy Toss a coin Enjoy the winnings Lose it all Back to beginning Body broken But keep on going Digging deep Finding the will to go on
If you believe it The world will see it Don’t let them change your mind If you hold on to it You surely will do it If you believe it to the heart of your soul If it won’t matter, it’s only a question of time
All material in ‘Hell & Back’ by the Rubicon Project is written, arranged, performed, recorded, produced and mixed by John Park with the following exceptions:
If you walk the talk Never ever lose your virtue If you walk with kings Don’t lose that common touch
The Project was Mastered by Russ Hepworth-Sawyer at Motto Sound Ltd www.mottosound.com
In the unforgiving minute You just have to fill it Gotta run your heart out Give it all you’ve got and a little bit more This can be a reality But only you can make it be If you believe it The world will see it Don’t let them change your mind If you hold on to it You surely will do it If you believe it to the heart of your soul If it won’t matter, it’s only a question of time If you believe it The world will see it Don’t let them change your mind If you hold on to it You surely will do it If you believe it to the heart of your soul If it won’t matter, it’s only a question of time
Wilderness Way Instrumental
Halloween (Lyrics by Stephen Donaldson & Alan Dunsmore) Sphinx (Lyrics by Stephen Donaldson)
Album Design & Photography: www.martinparkerphotography.co.uk
During the Rubicon Project John Park used the following; Guitars & Basses: Fender, Gibson, Jackson, Music Man, Paul Reed Smith, Takamine & Taylor.
Special thanks to my dearest wife Violet for accompanying me on the journey that is life, acting as executive producer for this album and keeping me in check when I went over the top with overly complex arrangements.
Guitar amplification: Line 6 and Mesa Boogie.
To Mark Jennings for encouraging me to get the ball rolling and providing the inspiration to use the poem IF.
Guitar effects: Ibanez, Line 6 and TC Electronic.
Š Copyright Energy Music Ltd
Keyboards on Wilderness Way by Roland and Korg. All copyright in this recording is the property of Energy Music Ltd.
Granite Rocks Halloween Sphinx New Sun Rising RealiTV Bites All of my Life Dreamland Storm-chasers Out of the Darkness What IF? Wilderness Way