Dr Liam Campbell: Writer & Lecturer

"Stranger in the Looking Glass" from the Dead Heroes Club Album A Time of Shadow

(I) A Stranger Appears 
Sitting in a house of reverence many years ago 
I asked the lord of my dominion 
Was there a path that he could show? 
To take me from my sense of sorrow and mediocrity - 
But only silence filled the air and so I drifted off to sleep. 

Then one day I woke and found a stranger in the looking glass, 
His face was old; he’s eyes were cold, 
And I was almost too afraid to ask… 
Is this what I’ve become? What else could I have done? 

And now the storm is beating against my old raincoat, 
As I wander down these familiar roads, 
In my hand another doctor’s note. 
But even now I get to thinking: maybe it’s not too late, 
To tunnel out of destitution and make good my escape - 
Then I catch a glimpse of a stranger in the looking glass, 
His face is cold; his eyes so old 
And I am almost too afraid to ask… 
Is this what I’ve become? What else could I have done? 

(II) The Reflection Speaks 
Out of confusion and into sight, 
Come the remnants of your dreams, 
Only you can make them real. 
And when the open doors shut tight, 
Don’t fall down on your knees. 
Just make the cold hearts feel. 
And though the days of youth are long gone now, 
You’ve got the fire to see you through – 
The Flame is still in you… 

Out of the ruins of the past 
Come the promises you made 
To yourself in younger days. 
And although your world is weary now, 
Don’t count yourself betrayed, 
This is the compromise you made. 
And though the days of youth are long gone now, 
You’ve got the fire to see you through – 
The Flame is still in you… 

Days of another kind lie up ahead, 
How can you see them if you just look behind? 
And looking through eyes of your favourite disguise 
You pretend to give sight to the blind. 
Look for me here; I’ll be standing beside you. 
Against the turn of the years 
The future will find us… 

Songs with a melody you’ve never heard 
Are playing somewhere down the line…. 
While stories abound of a truth gone to ground 
And a hero waiting somewhere in time… 
Don’t weep, don’t fear, don’t hide - this is the stranger’s time. 
Don’t weep, don’t fear, don’t hide - we can swim against this tide.

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