"Machu Picchu is like a run-down mini-golf course
in a bad part of town, compared to Heaven."
Incan Mini-Golf

I share the sense of urgency with the girl whose videos I posted at the bottom of my last article.  Time is running out.  Having recently written about Children of Men, the name of the boat at the end of the film came to mind as I was waking up today.  The ship that arrives to save the girl is called "Tomorrow."  The thought struck me as meaningful, particularly because of its randomness.  Then I opened the front door, and the neighbor was listening to "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Guns n' Roses.  I'm not going to try to convince you that these aren't coincidences; I'm just going to write the message on the wall for you to heed or disregard at your own discretion.  Your call.  Tomorrow, and "Knockin' on Heaven's door."  Of course, "Tomorrow" might be a metaphor for next month, or early January.  Then again, it might be tomorrow.  So there it is.  

Just in case I don't see you in hell.

Having long-since outgrown the "psychedelic" side of life, and having neglected my own personal favorite song of mine in recent music-video terms, I decided to make a video of "Fabulous Dream."  There are many other songs I wouldn't bother making a video for these days.  "High Orbit" isn't one of them, but I don't really want it to be my last statement to the world.  I've been making my last statement to the world for over a year, but if this happens to really be it, I don't want it to be "High Orbit."  It's too trippy.  I like it, of course, but flipping the image of the nuclear mushroom cloud on its head so that we're rising up through a "cloud of mushrooms" gives the listener the idea that there's still time to be tripping out on psychedelic drugs.  There isn't.  The lyric is a fun, poetic game of sleight-of-tongue, but like everything rooted in the grave, it's obsolete.  On arrival.  

"Fabulous Dream," on the other hand, points to another world.  "The" other world, to be precise.  Which other world?

That depends on you.

Fortunately, I've already made the video, so I don't have to bother making it again.  The video above is from 4 years ago, and apparently I age-restricted it myself, since it includes the footage of Kyle Rittenhouse defending himself during the Summer of Selective Justice in 2020.  The non-violent, audio-only version of the song is pasted below.

"Fabulous Dream" points to the other world, and even though I wasn't conscious of it at the time of writing, I think it points to both Heaven and Hell.  The song gives you a choice.  It says, "you know what I think; take it or leave it."  The song can't drag you through the gates of Heaven against your will any more than you can accidentally slip through them on a banana peel, by default.  You have to make a conscious decision.

So, which will you choose?

A kingdom of guitar-playing lions?  Singing birds freed from the cage of worldly violence by a Rapture ship christened "Tomorrow?"

Or will you opt for the infernal alternative?  The world is a trailer for both Heaven and Hell.  The epic, feature-length eternity hinted at by both beauty and ugliness (in all their forms) is at the door.  Do the Trailers For Heaven make you want to cast off the chains of sin and the world, so we can play Incan Mini-Golf on the hills of Machu Picchu, if we find ourselves in the "bad" part of town?

Or do you find the Rise of the Message more appealing, because you are the subject of your own internal tyranny, and seek to impose your will on others?  Do you want to be The Reason For The Coming Hell?

Or not?

Your call. 

Me, I want to sing, and jam with lions.

Meet me on the streets of gold.  I sincerely hope to see you there.

Perhaps tomorrow.

Fabulous Dream

The first time we spoke
I will never forget
though I could not remember to speak

The sun is a snake
that is always awake
and you gave me a kiss on the cheek
just in case I don't see you in hell

We danced in the gutter
like butterflies,
aimlessly,
circling the sparkling ruins
of a city of luminous stones,
gently bleeding
to death;
one last breath
and the whole world is ours!

We kissed at the top of a spiraling staircase
of fireflies littered with stars

Cars will fall from the sky
the constellations will all take a bow
life is a fabulous dream
darling, look at you now

©2007 Nathan Payne