Get all 13 Royal Holland releases available on Bandcamp and save 90%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Royal & Vär vs. the Sky Kingdom, Moonlight Twins EP, Matrioshka 4, Eternal Return - The Grave (Single), Eternal Return - The Maze (Single), Royal & Vär in West Virginia, Eternal Return - Digital Release, Live In-Studio Album Demos, and 5 more.
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Please do pardon my French.
"Joyeux Halloween"
Narrator:
Royal et Vär au Paris, á Sacré Cœur; Ils disent "Joyeux Halloween". Puis font un vœu et sont importé dans nouvelle aventure.
"Translation" - Royal and Vär in Paris at the Sacré Cœur; They say "Happy Halloween". They make a wish and are whisked on a new adventure.
Royal and the Valkyrie Choir:
When I sit down and think of things
My mind floats down in tighter rings
like falcons soar and bluebird sings
but all I see and hear is you
The magic spell behind your eyes
Your sacred heart a golden prize
Like Vishnu you've been glorified
But all of this holds true
"Sacré Cœur"
Royal:
When I sit down and think of things
My mind floats down in tighter rings
like falcons soar and bluebird sings
but all I see and hear is you
The magic spell behind your eyes
Your golden heart a sacred prize
Like Vishnu you've been glorified
But all of this holds true
When I wake up and look at you
Can't believe it's something that came true
The likes of me with the likes of you
And they are halcyon days
And golden nights by glassy seas
And magpies hiding in the trees
And sharing countless energies
A mythology that's true
All of this holds true
And all of this holds true
You are the red moon scattered on the sea
You are the queen of everything in me
You are the lucky star I will collide
And share with you the magic that's inside
Forever holding us my love
Intertwined throughout below above
You are the heart that holds the sacred key
To all the beauty in our synchronicity
And I will always be in love with you
And all of this does hold true
All of this holds true
"Nacho Cheese"
Royal:
I woke up today with a view of the sea and foretold catastrophe
It was raining below us and chanting above the song of your leaving me
My hands were tied into tiny little bows
And planted in the yard in perfect rows
When will my fingers grow into little trees that house the birds that fly you back to me
I woke up today with you on my mind and a dream of the cloudless sky
It was raining beside you but not overhead and your hair was meticulously tied
Into a bow of inordinate size
It covered up your face, all except your eyes
When will my fingers grow into little trees that house the birds that fly you back to me
"Bird"
Royal:
You gave me a caged bird, yellow and bright blue
She turned out to be the ghost of someone I once knew
Somewhere there's an echo of the song she used to sing
Every note is sacred and deeply promising
That she's flying back to me
And, I will wait for you dear until your songs are through
Then I'll jump out my window and wing my way to you
While you're flying back to me
"Caught Away"
Royal:
Sleep comes and goes
but I can get no rest
Phantoms of your breath
linger on my sunken chest
When you get caught away
You have to go
Stolen from yesterday
Now so long ago
When you get caught away
You have to leave
But now I spend eternities
Every day you're not with me
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2. |
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"The Mediterranean"
Royal and the Valkyrie Choir:
When I look out across the sea
A vision floats in haunting me
About the day we spent so free
So easily in love.
A vibrant stroll through bustling streets
Your magic always grounding me
Against my floating aimlessly
Through the holy stars above.
"The Sky Kingdom Descending"
Royal:
I saw, the sky had opened and inside there was a scene
Of the terrible destruction, that lies just behind the screams
Of the smallest of the children and the oldest of our kind.
All their zeppelins descending with corpses dangling from their sides
And their leathery commander with patches over missing eyes
But a gaze that had surely rendered thousand blank within their minds
And I knew that very moment what it will be like to die
And I felt his stare burn through me as I watched his birds take flight
Then I saw avian armies forming squads among the clouds
Setting forth from battle stations, holding secrets in their mouths
A name on scrolls of paper tied with torn strips of a blouse
and they caught fire as they fell to earth and could never be stamped out
And so what am I to do now as the sky draws ever near?
My love had been caught away and this had been my deepest fear
They had come covered in midnight and the wisdom of their years
And just how their magic claimed her is anything but clear
And then the sky became a theater and I watched them set the stage
The plot had seen her stolen, snatched away by jealous beasts
Wanting all of her for nothing in the hedonistic feast
Of her glorious provision that could bring them to their knees
But her kindness can't destroy them so it's all left up to me
And as soon as I can stand up from this shock I have received
Fighting off the feathered fury of the sky poured out on me
I will storm into the middle of their clockwork companies
And destroy the cage that holds her and once again we will be free
I'll destroy the cage that holds her and once again we will fly free
"Strange Machinations"
Royal:
Pale moonlight
Stars shedding light
Shadows of the birds in flight
The question is
What messages
Do they pass amongst their ranks tonight
Their secret schemes
Strange patterns it seems
And my mind cannot crack a solution
And so I bide
My time and design
A firm and swift resolution
"Skeleton Man & the Danse Macabre"
Skeleton Man:
Why do they call me the Skeleton Man
It's because I love to dance with the skeletons
Since you aren't going to have a need for yours perhaps you'll
Indulge me a spin or two on the floor
Why do they call me the Skeleton Man
When I'm not even either one of them
I keep a secret as well as I can
But I always give a glimpse of what you'll be in the end
Why do they call me the Skeleton Man
It's because I love to dance with the skeletons
Since you aren't going to have a need for yours perhaps you'll
Indulge me a spin or two on the floor
Oh yeah, why don't you give it to me?
Give it to me
Give me your skeleton, well dance the night away-hey hey
Give it to me
Shake them weary bones
"Royal's Flying Machine"
Royal:
Flying again.
To be flying again with you.
You know I would do anything.
I'd comb through the desert just to find a single grain of sand that you once held in your hand.
And I'd sail the starry ocean and lasso and old and mighty black hole. GIve you everything it ever stole and swore to never release again.
Flying again.
To be flying again with you.
You know I would do anything.
I'd build a strange contraption and test it with a reckless heart, just to find a place to start.
"Un Fois de Plus"
Royal:
I was pulled out of the water just scrounging for a dime
I found my heart was dripping in arsenic and time.
They found me face down in the dirt, just like a wise bird said
"You'll never see the morning 'til you cover up your head.
Royal quoting Skeleton Man:
For the kingdom she's a coming, just like the Devil's Night
You only got these three more times around, so you better do it right"
Royal:
I got one eye on the bottle. I got one eye on the grave.
A third one in the ether, but I still can't find my way.
My candle is the lightning. My pen a crooked claw.
My ink is my own holy blood but I don't mind at all
Royal quoting Skeleton Man:
"For the kingdom she's a coming, just like a butcher's knife
You only got these two more times around, so you better do it right"
Royal:
The Devil he once told me out of his crooked eyes,
That I was born to tell the truth and him for telling lies.
But, his trap it can't hold me, because a secret kept--
I too fell from heaven and I think they're glad I left.
Because when you're in heaven, you never use your mind.
You're too busy being perfect, you forget to be alive.
So, just one dive in the basin, one more swim through Hel.
Out of all my obligations this is one I won't dispel.
Royal quoting Skeleton Man:
"For the kingdom she's a coming, just like a serpent's bite
You only got this one more time around, so you better do it right."
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"Asgard"
Royal and the Valkyrie Choir:
When everything seems hard to do
And I'm feeling lonely without you
I focus on my favorite view
Staring in your eyes
I'm a better man because of us
And all we've dreamed and all we've sought
And how we grow stronger regardless
Of all these petty trials
"The Gates"
Heimdallr:
Welcome to the sky my friend
I know that this ain't what you'd planned
But can we just start again?
You'll never get around it if you take it from the bottom
You see how they have it reinforced with golden limbs?
I know it might surprise you that I give this information
But we want you to understand we have nothing against you at all
Not one thing against you
We'd be friendless without you
Let's see if I cant change your mind
You see a different way of looking at it
Is that we're calling you home
We're.trying to take you somewhere beautiful
And she'll be waiting there for you
There's nothing to worry for
Everything is looking up
Just trust me and grab my wing
Here we go, here we go
Just takes a different way of looking at it
Sometimes that all it takes.
"Ardea Herodius"
A Mysterious Figure:
You can see her soaring over the river
And you can see her lighting in the trees
You can let her take you, trembling, with her
On a journey to find your family
The mirror shows the time while the clock face tells the rhyme
"Life is but a dream in a knot skillfully tied,
The trick is to untie it while firmly tucked inside."
And the credits start to roll overtop "Sweet Caroline"
It's just like breathing in a cyclone
And breathing out a balmy breeze
I'd like to soar with you for quite some time
Create and solve some mysteries
The mirror shows the time while the clock face tells the rhyme
"Life is but a dream in a knot skillfully tied,
The trick is to untie it while firmly tucked inside."
And the credits start to roll overtop "Sweet Caroline"
Sweet Caroline, the good times never seemed so good
And I've been inclined to believe they never could
"Valhalla"
Royal:
Where are you?
I'm coming, coming to find you.
I heard that you might have a solution to all my problems.
So, can you help me?
Can you please help me?
Üllr:
What you want me to do, it a'int easy
And it's gonna hurt you, boy, way more than it hurts me.
Said, this is gonna hurt boy.
I hope that whatever you're missing is worth it.
I say, we gotta pull out your heart, fill it up with the heat of a million stars.
And if there's anything left, we have to cut it wide open to see if you're still there.
And I don't think you're ready, boy.
Well are you ready boy?
Cause if you're ready, then I'm ready, so let's begin.
Let's begin.
"Riding the Heron's Back"
Royal:
It looks like we're making progress.
I'm almost through this, I guess.
Don't worry my love, I'm getting closer every day.
I'll never give up
Üllr and the Valkyrie Choir:
You've got to make it through just a few more trials
Pass the test of the Sphinx at Yggdrasil
Have your soul weighed out on Ma'at's scale
Confront the most terrifying of all, the truth about yourself.
Royal:
The truth about myself.
"Yggdrasil"
Hugin:
Hey it's Hugin and Munin comin' at you from Yggdrasil
That crazy tree on everbody's minds and we got a question for you
I said we got a question for you, We got a question for you
Just one question and you can pass
Please take a look at our friend the Sphinx
Let her enter your mind
She'll ask you the question, the question you must answer
And answer it you must
You gotta get on that bus, the bus that's leaving for the edge of time.
Munin:
Now this is Munin
Look at the tiny little human
We get to play with the tiny little human
He gonna feel this magic we are doing
He gonna find that it is a bit confusin'
But if he just keep his body movin'
To the beat to the beat that we are usin'
He can answer this question
The Sphinx's question, is "Who are you?"
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"Light as a feather"
Royal and the Valkyrie Choir:
Well now it seems we're near the end
As i teeter on this precipice
Preparing for the final test
I feel the glowing prize
Draw nearer to me and I feel
The weightless feeling all too real
Of falling into the ethereal love that's
Beaming from your eyes
"Ma'at"
Ma'at:
Let's see what your offering
I'm looking for those human things
Like the dreams you hide and the pain inside and all the heartbreak it brings
I hunger for something it's hard to explain
I tried to ignore it and still it remains
And as you can see I'm a different thing
So now let's see the gifts you bring
To offer me so I might now what it's like to be alive
And if you don't then I'll just make you live another life
Royal and the Valkyrie Choir:
You're never gonna steal these dreams
There will be no burnt offerings
And so I'll just sing the refrain
And sing it again, sing it again
Listen to me you fraudulent being
I will just tell you what I am seeing
Is what I believe and none in between and
The reason I'm here is a hell of a thing
I thought that you had stolen something
But now I realize, you never even cared at all
You're never gonna steal these dreams
There will be no burnt offerings
And so I'll just sing the refrain
And sing it again, sing it again
Ma'at:
Give them to me now!
"Le Juge Penitent"
Royal:
Well, I was kind at times
And others I stumbled around blind
Groping for truth and heat and light
Hoping for love and searching the night
On this journey you've watched me through
So do I even needed to say a thing to prove
Prove I was worthy, worthy to be
Worthy to be and to believe the kingdom to be true
And to believe, I had found the greatest clue and that it lies
Inside the magic in our minds and we clever ones
Embrace and then we find that our love gives everything it's lights
And our love will last until the end of time
When we have to leave this mystery behind
[Redacted]
The Sky Kingdom has chosen it's new Queen
It is you my love and I will be your King
And it's your song forever we will sing.
"Queen Vär"
Royal:
Do you remember that June night, we walked in the moonlight that was pregnant with time
The universe had called us to show that it had taught us of magic sublime
The river lined with tiny floating willow wisps sacredly
The birds aligned deciding then to sing a different song
Your body calling out to the void as you spoke their names
Your mind entranced in the workings of the spell, that's what you explained
You speak their names and then they burst into the cloudy night
Our love it seems is all we need to set the ages right
There she lay as if in her watery grave
The sun painted her skin in dazzling stars; a nigh blinding array
I knelt before her surrounded by the secrets that we share
I kissed her on the lips and woke her from her eternal slumber there
And then as we sailed the sky keeping our eyes availed to the clouds and shaodw buildings
First a glint in your eye, you pointed and said "There she is now"
We stood with breath bated.
Finally in darkness and light Ardea appeared at the exact right time
She soared under our feet, and made us complete
The Eternal Return of the stardust inside.
"The Sky Kingdom"
Royal:
When I sit down and think of things
My mind floats down in tighter rings
Like falcons soar and bluebird sings
But all I see and hear is you
The magic spell behind your eyes
Your golden heart a sacred prize
Like Vishnu you've been glorified
But all of this holds true
Now this adventure's said and done
I can't wait for another one
But, now that we have found our home
Let's never ever part
We'll sail the sky and pass through time
And find whatever we can find
THat's beautiful and also kind
And then we'll just restart
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5. |
Joyeaux Halloween
01:29
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6. |
Sacré Cœur
03:01
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7. |
Nacho Cheese
03:29
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8. |
Bird
08:05
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9. |
Caught Away
03:35
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10. |
The Mediterranean
01:24
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11. |
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12. |
Strange Machinations
02:12
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13. |
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14. |
Royal's Flying Machine
03:41
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15. |
Un Fois de Plus
02:56
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16. |
Asgard
01:23
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17. |
The Gates
03:10
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18. |
Ardea Herodius
04:03
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19. |
Valhalla
05:28
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20. |
Riding the Heron's Back
02:41
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21. |
Yggdrasil
03:29
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22. |
Light as a Feather
01:26
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23. |
Ma'at
02:33
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24. |
Le Juge Penitent
03:20
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25. |
Queen Vär
04:37
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26. |
The Sky Kingdom
05:52
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Royal Holland Dayton, Ohio
Dreamy Synth Folk Rock songs about loss and love.
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