a) Scenario
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In long years of ancient time, stood alone a friend of mine.
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Reflected by the ever-burning sigh of a god who happened by.
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And in the dawn, there came the song of some sweet lady singing in his ear.
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Your god has gone, and from now on, you'll have to learn to hate
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the things you fear.
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We want to know, are we inside the womb
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of passion plays, and by righteousness consumed?
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Or just in lush contentment of our souls?
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And so began the age of man.
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They left his body in the sand.
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Their glasses raised to a god on high
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who smiled upon them from the sky.
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So take the stage. Spin down the ages. Loose the passion.
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Spill the rage upon your son who holds the gun up to your head ---
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the play's begun.
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b) Audition
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Then God, the director, smells a rat.
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Pulls another rabbit from His hat.
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Sniffs the air and He says, ``Well, that's that --- I'm going.''
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The actors milling helplessly --- the script is blowing out to sea.
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But what the hell, we didn't even pass an audition.
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The lines you'll have to improvise. The words are written in
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the eyes of politicians who despise their fathers.
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And so the play necessitates that all you boys participate
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in fierce competition to eliminate each other.
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And groupies, on their way to war,
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get to write the next film score.
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But the rock and roll star knows his glory is really nothing.
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Men of religion, on the make,
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pledge an oath they undertake to
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make you white for God's own sake, and none other.
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While ladies get their bedding done
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to win themselves a bouncing son ---
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but bad girls do it for the fun of just being.
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And me, I'm here to sing along,
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and I'm not concerned with the righting wrongs,
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just asking questions that belong without an answer.
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The God is laughing up his sleeve
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as He pours himself another cup of tea,
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and He waves goodbye to you and me,
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at least for now.
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c) No Rehearsal
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Did you learn your lines today? Well, there is no rehearsal.
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The tickets have all been sold for tomorrow's matinee.
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There's a telegram from the writer,
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but there is no rehearsal.
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The electrician has been told to make the spotlights brighter.
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There's one seat in the circle --- five hundred million in the stalls.
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Simply everyone will be there, but the safety curtain falls when
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the bomb that's in the dressing room
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blows the windows from their frames.
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And the prompter in his corner is sorry that he came.
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Did you learn your lines today? Well there is no rehearsal.
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The interval will last until the ice-cream lady melts away.
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The twelve piece orchestra are here, but there is no rehearsal.
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The first violinist's hands are chilled --- he's gone deaf in both ears.
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Well, the scenery is colourful, but the paint is so damn thin.
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You see the wall behind is crumbling,
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and the stage door is bricked-in.
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But the audience keep arriving
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`till they're standing in the wings.
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And we take the final curtain call, and the ceiling crashes in.
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The Chateau D'Isaster Tapes
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Jethro Tull |