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.
1. |
The Maze
05:21
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The secrets are all told by rustling leaves, but no one knows just who they’re telling
We do believe the words will hold a key, but no one knows the door that it will open
But if you ^2 would just say those words to me, I would give back all the phrases that I’ve stolen It’s simple but it’s so hard to explain, how easily we get lost out in the open ^3
You’ll see what you want to see, You’ll hear what you want to hear ^4
The walls are slowly closing in, or else we’re walking through them as if they’re even there.
The rooms are all full of swollen air, but no one shows a desire to force them open
The doors are all closed with anxious care, and our fear grows the storms hidden behind them
But if I could just peek in on you ^2 there ^8 , I would give back all the glimpses that I’ve stolen Then the doors would all open up to me and we would see all the things that are worth knowing. ^c
You’ll see what you want to see, You’ll hear what you want to hear
The walls are slowly closing in, or else we’re walking through them as if they’re even there.
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2. |
Statues
04:53
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It seems to me, like we struggle to be
We are like statues brought to life by the thunder and a scream
Of a mother who is down to her last dollar on this Earth
Crouched over fires in which she sees that her life ain't what it’s worth
Days follow days follow night and again ^0
We hide the truth in their wake
Nights swell with hopes that the days burn away Leaving behind what we then take
But I’ll try everything to hold on to anything That keeps me warm when I’m stoic and frozen I’ll keep chiseling away at everything
Until I can see the perfect form ^g
So, why do we stand devoted to our courtyard demise
We’ll fade away as the time erodes the cosmos in our eyes ^b When we could follow titans on a road to hell and back
We’d torch the devils ^A in hopes to steal back
All the courage that we lack.
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3. |
Program
03:26
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I long to be free of this lowly station
The base frequency, miscalculated obligation
I’m pounding against, all the corners I find myself in
But, the program is bound, to ^L the body in which it sits ^M
This mantra believe, You’re the product of your own vision
Message receive ^5, You can’t output more than you’re given
I’m pounding against, all the corners I find myself in
But, the program is bound to the body in which it sits
This body is a binding contract with me
This body is compiling lines terminally ^6
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4. |
Demimonde
03:44
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You were standing in the kitchen by the sink
Light was streaming through your hair just like a breeze but, you didn’t notice me there
You lifted up your hand toward your face and brushed away the locks draping your brow
You seemed as if you were falling through the room
She’s not falling, she’s only teaching me how to fall ^7
Your ghost escaped and caught me looking on
It passed through me and whispered in my ear “You’re not supposed to hear this”
I looked at you again but you had changed
Your face was firm and your eyes had turned dark
I got lost in them one last time.
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5. |
Shore
03:26
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Here it comes, another swell, dragging me down into the drink
I’m not sure but knowing my heart it will sink
Please let me down gently now
Here it comes, another drink, dragging me down into a deep sleep I’m not sure, but knowing my heart it will weep
Please let me down gently now
There is a sea ^8 deep inside of me
I don’t know what it’s for
I cross the wave almost every night, in hopes just to find a shore ^c
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6. |
The Grave
04:25
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I’m just hanging out,
watching as the time slips off the clock.
Wondering if it’s gonna stop
Days keep floating by
full of minutes that are never quite on time.
Stack themselves into a life
But is it long enough?
Vega ^9 save me now,
‘cuz I’m not sure that I remember how,
and I’m folded ^a in half
So, lay your body down.
Take your sacred vow to cover me.
I think that’s all I really need
But is it strong enough?
I was busy staring in the void ^0
Someone said you were looking for me
I’m just scraping by day after day
Seeing if there’s anything worth to save
Falling from the cradle to the grave ^7
Death’s just there waiting anxiously for me
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7. |
Flamingo
04:35
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Wingspan; the size of a ghostly corpse, swoop overhead, Flamingo
You’ll not be tamed by our mockery, beast of the wild, Flamingo
Oh, how we nullify the greatness you comprise, by caricature, Flamingo Fly over me. Wail out your decree. Never let me be, Flamingo
We pile on all of this, so we can keep forgetting,
that we’re frail and ill equipped for these lives we’re barely living
So never let me be. Remind me of the killing;
that beast inside of me that flies free if I’m willing, and I’m willing
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8. |
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We’ve lost our ways and don’t know where to find ‘em
Built towers so tall that we’ll never climb them
Sent them up to god but he don’t want ‘em
So, we decided we would take that duty from him
Want everything but don’t know where we’ll put it
But, we won’t go to sleep until we’ve got it
And, when we do sleep we cannot even have dreams
‘Cause if we did we’d end up being happy
And, that’s what scares the happiness out of us
That one day we might not have to buy one more thing
To build a massive doomed and burning mountain
And, at its peak a paper mausoleum
We focus on the rancor of the factions
And, forget that we all once were little babies
And, that one day we learned to hate another person
And, to be afraid of every passing moment
And, to forget to feel the warm sun on our faces
Or, to hold the hand of someone that we care for
And, we start to think that this is what is normal
Can’t hear the whispers of what has come before us
And, the humming in our bones is deathly quiet
And the earth she turns and becomes truly angry
And she scorns with all the harshness of her glory
And, she tells that there have been some before us
And, that there will be others once we are forsaken
And she begs us to stop tearing down our brothers
And destroying ourselves by destroying others
And a small child has but one word on her tongue
And she’s singing it in hopes that we can still hear
So let’s follow her into the cold morning
As the ache of time caresses our demeanor
If we’d only open up our eyes in the darkness
We’d remember that we once lit the fire
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Royal Holland Dayton, Ohio
Dreamy Synth Folk Rock songs about loss and love.
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