Edward's Song: The Hero With A Thousand Faces

[binaryalchemist]

THIS is for my beloved friends on this LJ....this is for YOU.

THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES

By Linda Walsh, 2010

(ttto “McDonald On The Hill”)

 

The seed that births the Hero isn’t nurtured in the womb

A drop of ink ignites a life in a writer’s lonely room

He’s born of someone’s fancy—someone just like you or I

But their dream contains a spark that will not die

 

A feather-stroke of sumi ink upon a page of white

A pencil sketch on legal pad—a young man springs to life

A manga stall in Tokyo—a bookshop in Detroit

We will gather there to read of his exploits

 

(chorus)

He bears a thousand faces and a hundred million names

A scribble or a keystroke and his life begins again

No single bard or artist takes the credit for his birth

For the Hero’s tale is older than the Earth….

 

A tattered book is cherished as it’s passed from hand to hand

The young man quest retold in countless tongues and foreign lands

It changes in the telling as his tale becomes our own

In the landscape of our dreams he makes his home

 

At multiplex and IMAX the adventure will unfold

The profits are astounding from a franchise bought and sold

His figure sells on Ebay—I cannot afford the cost

And along the way beloved tales get lost….

 

 (chorus)

He bears a thousand faces and a hundred million names

A scribble or a keystroke and his life begins again

No single bard or artist takes the credit for his birth

For the Hero’s tale is older than the Earth….

 

It’s sequel after sequel—milk a franchise half to death

When we squeeze each drop of profit we are squeezing out the breath

Of a young man on Adventure’s Road—his triumps and his pain

But within our home-spun tales he breathes again

 

The Realm of Dreams contains a room unseen by waking eyes

Where the songs and art and fanfics scorned as cannon-less and lies

Have been bound with love and tender care on a billion star-lit shelves

Where in joy the Hero reads about himself

 

(chorus)

He bears a thousand faces and a hundred million names

A scribble or a keystroke and his life begins again

No single bard or artist takes the credit for his birth

For the Hero’s tale is older than the Earth….

 

You’d think the book that starts his shelf ought to bear the name of one

Who has sold the book—who owns the rights—when all is said and done

But their empires are inspired by the hero’s tales of yore

And though the names and lands have changed, they will endure

 

Is it Harry Potter’s magic---or the Elric’s alchemy?

They are dreams that weave the Hero’s bones—the mythic’s tapestry

From painted cave to Blu-ray, ‘cross a thousand stars and seas—

His enduring tale’s his immortality

His enduring tale’s his  immortality…..

Comments

[amethyst_koneko]

THIS! <333333 Wish I had the words to express how perfectly awesome this is but I don't. :)

"It’s sequel after sequel — milk a franchise half to death
When we squeeze each drop of profit we are squeezing out the breath
Of a young man on Adventure’s Road — his triumps and his pain
But within our home-spun tales he breathes again"

My heart breaks at "milk a franchise half to death" and soars at "but within our home-spun tales he breathes again"! :D This song is win! ^_^

[binaryalchemist.livejournal.com]

I was crying when I wrote it...just wanting to hug all of us...and hug Edward and Harry for what's become of them...This is what I wanted to say in "One Candle shines in a thousand doorways" but nobody read it for the most part--it was pointedly ignored on the coms....so this is my answer. I think Roy's mustache was the last straw, damn it!

[amethyst_koneko]

I just read "One Candle" just now. I don't know how I missed it before. LJ musta been acting up or something. I didn't quite get it at first but once I got into it, it's really really good! :) It's really deep, very philosophical. It makes you think. A fanfic that makes you think? blasphemy! LOL Ed is the product of a thousand tales before him and he is the source of a thousand tales yet to come. Man that's some deep shit! I'm gonna break my own brain if I'm not careful! XDDD The best line in the fic was, "But which story is true?" "ALL of them". wow. just gonna marinate on that one for a bit. :)

Mustang's mustache is a crime against humanity! BLECCH! I don't care how it happens but it's gotta go! :D

[binaryalchemist.livejournal.com]

Have you ever read Neil Gaiman's "SANDMAN"? You wanna know who is my biggest influence--it's that scruffy dude in the black leather jacket named Neil. Also, there was a PBS series in the 80's called 'The Power Of Myth With Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers". A book was released as a companion to the series---and it begins with Joe talking about Star Wars--and how it is as valid a myth as the tales of of the Odyssey. When I saw FMA I thought, "Dear god...Joe Campbell would have loved this so much....". My life, spiritual trainng and education is deeply steeped in philosphy and myth...it is in ever damn page of "Fifty Trips" and the much-hated "Paint the Sky"...because I am taking mythic journeys and taking risks even outside the norms of fanfics. The result is a great lack of popularity and reminders that I don't write so well as this or that person. Nope. I write DIFFERENT---because maybe I'm seeing with different eyes, I guess....

[dragonimp.livejournal.com]

You actually have me tearing up reading this..

[binaryalchemist.livejournal.com]

Thanks, my friend. I had to get it out of my system or my heart would just break....and I realized it was as much about Harry as the Brothers....

[eve_n_furter]

I was also touched by this. It's not only universally true for our many beloved heroes and stories, but you've managed to form it into poetry too! A wonderful achievement. *applauds*

[binaryalchemist.livejournal.com]

Thanks--it was one of those songs that screamed to be written...and made me feel a hell of a lot better once it was done.