Cover of H to He Who Am the Only One
"Lost" es uno de los dos temas extensos y majestuosos que ocupaban la cara B del álbum "H To He Who Am The Only One" (1970) del grupo británico Van Der Graaf Generator. Aunque fueron incluídos en la corriente progresiva por extensión quizás, queda claro que a pesar de algunas conexiones y características comunes con dicho género son una rara avis de la música. Difícilmente clasificables, la música del grupo exploraba el lado oscuro de la mente dando énfasis a los sentimientos de soledad, muerte o miedo en un claro devenir fatalista y pesimista que dotaba a la banda de un halo hasta cierto punto macabro.
Una propuesta a veces difícil de afrontar que despertaba y alarmaba a nuestros propios demonios internos. Estaban liderados por el cantante y también guitarrista Peter Hammill, aunque el órgano de Hugh Banton y el saxo de David Jackson eran ingredientes fundamentales para llevar a cabo su peculiar sonido. Volviendo a "Lost", decir que es uno de los temas que más claramente anticipan los vuelos artísticos que afrontaría la banda un año después en su siguiente entrega "Pawn Hearts", la obra cumbre del grupo.
"Lost" es un conmovedor poema romántico que exalta el imposible retorno a tiempos más felices en medio del hundimiento en la nostalgia y la culpa: un tema muy compacto, dominado por una perfecta fluidez, que subyace a los cambios de motivos musicales y rítmicos. "Lost" consta de dos partes y es uno de los mejores temas del grupo, con un Hammill demostrando su poderio vocal, con suaves melodias de organo de fondo, y Jackson sembrando el caos con su saxo, indescriptible belleza hecha música.
LOST
i. Dance in sand and sea
So here we are, or rather, here I am, quite alone,
I'm seeing things that were shared before, long ago
my memory stretches and I am dazed: you know I know
how good the time was and how I laughed.
Times have changed, now you're far away, I can't complain:
I had all my chances but they slipped right through my hands-
like so much sand;
I know I'll never dance like I used to
I'll just wait till day breaks upon the land and the sea,
hoping that I can catch all of the memories,
then I must crawl off upon my way, all of me
listening hard for the final words.
But there are none; the sunrise calls, I've lingered on
too close for comfort and I don't know quite why
I feel like crying-
I know we'll never dance like we used to.
I look up, I'm almost blinded by the warmth of what's inside me
and the taste that's in my soul,
but I'm dead inside as I stand alone.
ii. Dance in frost
I wore my moods like so many different sets of clothes
but the right one was never around;
and as you left I heard my body ring
and my mind began to howl
It was far to late to contemplate the meaning of it all:
You know that I need you, but somehow I don't think you see my love
at all
At some point I lost you, I don't know quite how it was;
The wonderland lay in a coat of white, chilling frost
I looked around and I found I was truly lost:
without your hand in mine I am dead.
Reality is unreal and games I've tried just aren't the same:
without your smile there's nowhere to hide
and deep inside
I know I've never cried as I'm about to ...
If I could just frame the words that would make your fire burn
all this water now around me could be the love that
should surround me.
Looking out through the tears that bind me
my heart bleeds that you may find me...or at least that I can
forget and be numb, but I can't stop, the words still come:
I love you