Sketches
The libretto’s below are “works in Progress” from the 2009 production of “gravity + grace.”
Libretto by Frank Ferraro Music by Stephen Pellegrino Performed by Stephen Pellegrino copyright Pellegrino/Ferraro 2008 Audio(excerpt) Searching for the Cure
Blown by the winds of Damocles
Thrown against the shores of fate
What is our course my captain
And how long must we wait
Can you lead us to the Holy Grail
Or fill our pockets with gold
Help us navigate through this
terrible disease before we grow too old
(chorus)
When the shaman rises from the dead
Will he feed my family
Will he hold my wife through lonely nights
And put my ill’s to rest
We are sailors of broken moonlight
Counting the stars that slip away
Playing poker with the devils hand
Holding his will at bay
(chorus)
I am on the turnpike to Babylon
on the west side of a Jersey wall
these great barriers shall not keep
me from the experience of it all
fields are lined with Eiffel towers
threaded through and standing tall
the Colossus of Rhodes once stood
here, but they moved it to the mall
there so much that I can share with
you, so please don’t put pennies on
my eyes, in seven seconds I’ll be going
away, and you’ll find me in Nepal
As The Crow Flies
I’ll take the wings of a crow
and tie them to your pain
I’ll run through the corn fields
and watch them fly away
I’ll grab a spade from the barn
and we’ll meet on the hill
leave your watch at home and
we’ll bury all the pills
my heart is pounding
its going to be a brand new day
we’ll go down to the basement
and pull out the old bikes
wrench you out of the wheel chair
and pedal out into the night
then we’ll dance to the radio
wrestle on the lawn
walk the rails by the river and
listen to trains all day long
nothing will matter
if things are not the same
I’ll take the wings of a crow
and tie them to your pain,
I’ll run through the corn fields
and watch them fly away
Words : Frank Ferraro
Music : Stephen Pellegrino
Copyright 2009 Pellegrino/Ferraro