Blue Öyster Cult — Astronomy
Album: Secret TreatiesAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 849
Length: 6:11
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The clock strikes twelve and moondrops burst
Out at you from their hiding place
Like acid and oil on a madman's face
His reason tends to fly away
Like lesser birds on the four winds
Like silver scrapes in May
And now the sand's become a crust
And most of you have gone away
Come Susie dear, let's take a walk
Just out there upon the beach
I know you'll soon be married
And you'll want to know where winds come from
Well it's never said at all
On the map that Carrie reads
Behind the clock back there you know
At the Four Winds Bar
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Four winds at the Four Winds Bar
Two doors locked and windows barred
One door to let to take you in
The other one just mirrors it
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Hellish glare and inference
The other one's a duplicate
The Queenly flux, eternal light
Or the light that never warms
Or the light that never, never warms
Or the light that never
Never warms
Never warms
Never warms
The clock strikes twelve and moondrops burst
Out at you from their hiding place
Miss Carrie nurse and Susie dear
Would find themselves at Four Winds Bar
It's the nexus of the crisis
And the origin of storms
Just the place to hopelessly
Encounter time and then came me
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Call me Desdinova
Eternal light
These gravely digs of mine
Will surely prove a sight
And don't forget my dog
Fixed and consequent
Astronomy...a star
Astronomy...a star
Astronomy...a star
Astronomy...a star
Out at you from their hiding place
Like acid and oil on a madman's face
His reason tends to fly away
Like lesser birds on the four winds
Like silver scrapes in May
And now the sand's become a crust
And most of you have gone away
Come Susie dear, let's take a walk
Just out there upon the beach
I know you'll soon be married
And you'll want to know where winds come from
Well it's never said at all
On the map that Carrie reads
Behind the clock back there you know
At the Four Winds Bar
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Four winds at the Four Winds Bar
Two doors locked and windows barred
One door to let to take you in
The other one just mirrors it
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Hellish glare and inference
The other one's a duplicate
The Queenly flux, eternal light
Or the light that never warms
Or the light that never, never warms
Or the light that never
Never warms
Never warms
Never warms
The clock strikes twelve and moondrops burst
Out at you from their hiding place
Miss Carrie nurse and Susie dear
Would find themselves at Four Winds Bar
It's the nexus of the crisis
And the origin of storms
Just the place to hopelessly
Encounter time and then came me
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Call me Desdinova
Eternal light
These gravely digs of mine
Will surely prove a sight
And don't forget my dog
Fixed and consequent
Astronomy...a star
Astronomy...a star
Astronomy...a star
Astronomy...a star
Comments (76)add comment
this album and their tyranny and mutation album made them another great guitar band of the 1970s
I occasionally hear acqulung, Jethro Tull
droos wrote:
...so ...er ...you ...er, ...don't like it then?
(i prefer the 'Imaginos' album version, but that's just me...)
This sucks so much. Why would any band make a song like this? Why would anyone play it?
...so ...er ...you ...er, ...don't like it then?
(i prefer the 'Imaginos' album version, but that's just me...)
This sucks so much. Why would any band make a song like this? Why would anyone play it?
Patti Smith write this one for them too? 
bitbanger wrote:
Why? It's a plane. It's not a Nazi endorsement. Should Led Zeppelin be canceled. Jeez.
They would get in big trouble these days with an ME-262 on their album cover.
Why? It's a plane. It's not a Nazi endorsement. Should Led Zeppelin be canceled. Jeez.
danoboy075484205 wrote:
Nah, Tyranny & Mutation I still think is their best early album. But that's just me.
Best BOC album in my opinion. Rockin’ stuff.
Nah, Tyranny & Mutation I still think is their best early album. But that's just me.
They would get in big trouble these days with an ME-262 on their album cover.
alotlikeyou wrote:
RobRyan wrote:
Sure...But what doesn't?
Ancient wisdom from 13 years ago. Yet it rings true today.
Needs a cowbell.
RobRyan wrote:
Sure...But what doesn't?
Ancient wisdom from 13 years ago. Yet it rings true today.
Best BOC album in my opinion. Rockin’ stuff.
oh man, this song... takes me back to my teenage bedroom, playing along on the drums while wearing headphones. Cannabis may have been involved.
LinThizzy wrote:
Me too! 😀
Glad I was here to hear that, don't hear that too often these days, perhaps this was a Hawking favorite!
I sent away for Blue Oyster Cult lyrics in the late '70s via address on rear of album cover and received them crudely printed on
that wide green/white computer printer paper with edge holes from a mainframe computer somewhere in NYC.
Me too! 😀
What no cowbell? 
A 9 tune no doubt
A 9 tune no doubt
Nice blast from the past. They went much more pop later but their earlier edgier stuff is well worth a listen.
Just recently I pulled this LP out of the rack, dusted it off, dropped the needle and heard it again for the first time in....decades. Good to hear this track on RP.
I've only ever heard the Metallica version. This is interesting.
robspeds wrote:
pclancey wrote: That plane is a Messerschmitt 262, the first operational jet fighter. It's a Nazi wonder weapon.
Why would you want THAT on your album cover?
I did NOT write that. Please reply correctly in the future.
Bill - thanks for the BOC.
pclancey wrote: That plane is a Messerschmitt 262, the first operational jet fighter. It's a Nazi wonder weapon.
Why would you want THAT on your album cover?
I did NOT write that. Please reply correctly in the future.
Bill - thanks for the BOC.
eskles wrote:
"Where the dewdrops cry and the cats meow..."
If someone told me this song was Reiner's inspiration for Spinal Tap, I'd believe it.
"Where the dewdrops cry and the cats meow..."
The hook from that song, having heard it performed by BOC, has been etched deeply into my mind for 50 years... There may have been drugs involved ...perhaps ...I don't remember exactly.
pclancey wrote: That plane is a Messerschmitt 262, the first operational jet fighter. It's a Nazi wonder weapon.
Why would you want THAT on your album cover?
Why would you want THAT on your album cover?
Please don't start trying to cancel album covers....
idiot_wind wrote:
Absolutely. Up until a few years ago (haven't seen them lately), they were still a killer guitar band. I own several of their early albums, including this one, but quit collecting them because BOC were first and foremost a performance band, so much better live than their recordings. With Richie Castellano, they were simply amazing to watch. Alas, they are now old. Buck's fingers don't work quite like they used to, and Alan loses his voice touring. Saw a show in Memphis that was primarily instrumental, Buck singing a few, and it was still well worth the ticket.
Back in he day, this was a killer guitar band.
Absolutely. Up until a few years ago (haven't seen them lately), they were still a killer guitar band. I own several of their early albums, including this one, but quit collecting them because BOC were first and foremost a performance band, so much better live than their recordings. With Richie Castellano, they were simply amazing to watch. Alas, they are now old. Buck's fingers don't work quite like they used to, and Alan loses his voice touring. Saw a show in Memphis that was primarily instrumental, Buck singing a few, and it was still well worth the ticket.
The song and album have aged so well! This was the last studio album before the production duo of Pearlman/Krugman gave BOC a thoroughly buffed and polished sound for "Don't Fear the Reaper." You can't argue with success. As much as I liked "Agents of Fortune" back in the day, "Secret Treaties" is the album I keep coming back to.
Tangential Trivia: Pearlman/Krugman gave the same makeover to the Dictators, who went from the savage "Go Girl Crazy" to the wildly overproduced "Manifest Destiny" I liked the change but Andy Sherman renounced the album. It certainly didn't give them BOC-like success.
Tangential Trivia: Pearlman/Krugman gave the same makeover to the Dictators, who went from the savage "Go Girl Crazy" to the wildly overproduced "Manifest Destiny" I liked the change but Andy Sherman renounced the album. It certainly didn't give them BOC-like success.
Albert Bouchard played this on acoustic guitar at Sandy Pearlman's wake in SF, and those of us who knew the lyrics sang along.
Wish BOC had done more than 4 whole songs in their career. They sound like a band that could sing great songs about colors. Colors like red. And black.
Wow! Been forever since I've heard this. Thanks, RP!!!
I just love early BOC
Solid band
runaway wrote:
Someone said 'pretentious' and that pretty much sums it up. In this song they sound just like the German band Scorpions who make me cringe as well. The only good song BOC ever did was Don't fear the Reaper, and that one is just creepy and probably egged on more than a few teen suicides. Two thumbs down.
Pretentious is overused and likely the gut reaction to not understanding the artists.
Pretentious is overused and likely the gut reaction to not understanding the artists.
ce wrote:
Give the song ME262 from this album a listen and find out
That plane is a Messerschmitt 262, the first operational jet fighter. It's a Nazi wonder weapon.
Why would you want THAT on your album cover?
Why would you want THAT on your album cover?
Give the song ME262 from this album a listen and find out
The pinnacle of Lon Guyland culture!
This was my favourite song when I was... 13? years old. I remember walking around the garden with my MP3 player just listening to it.
An oldie, but new to me! LONG LIVE RP!!!
That plane is a Messerschmitt 262, the first operational jet fighter. It's a Nazi wonder weapon.
Why would you want THAT on your album cover?
Why would you want THAT on your album cover?
Hearing a bit of Aqualung in here.
Back in he day, this was a killer guitar band.
Hearing this from another room, I expected it to be a new track from Jack White.
right on, soft white underbelly
LinThizzy wrote:
Me too, how cool was that back in the day?
Glad I was here to hear that, don't hear that too often these days, perhaps this was a Hawking favorite!
I sent away for Blue Oyster Cult lyrics in the late '70s via address on rear of album cover and received them crudely printed on
that wide green/white computer printer paper with edge holes from a mainframe computer somewhere in NYC.
Me too, how cool was that back in the day?
Wow, time to play B-sides!
I've read a lot of comments ragging on the use of 'hey' in modern music, all of it I agree with. Here we have a vintagey tune that has a lot of 'hey' in it. Why is it not a problem here? Because here, each one was recorded live and has slight variation/nuance that doesn't sting the ear. It's sung by real humans, each time, and not recorded once, tweaked, and then cut and pasted everywhere. There's something to be said for the older recording process, in capturing authentic moments that resonate with emotion, even when it's just a 'hey'.
I've read a lot of comments ragging on the use of 'hey' in modern music, all of it I agree with. Here we have a vintagey tune that has a lot of 'hey' in it. Why is it not a problem here? Because here, each one was recorded live and has slight variation/nuance that doesn't sting the ear. It's sung by real humans, each time, and not recorded once, tweaked, and then cut and pasted everywhere. There's something to be said for the older recording process, in capturing authentic moments that resonate with emotion, even when it's just a 'hey'.
Excellent album !
A classic...BOC thank you.
ecojot wrote:
No cowbells?
No cowbells?
Nice to hear this one from the days of my youth ;-)
Glad I was here to hear that, don't hear that too often these days, perhaps this was a Hawking favorite!
I sent away for Blue Oyster Cult lyrics in the late '70s via address on rear of album cover and received them crudely printed on
that wide green/white computer printer paper with edge holes from a mainframe computer somewhere in NYC.
Oh wow, just wow. There have been very few times in my life I have ever heard anything from the first 3 BOC albums played by a radio station or club. You just made my day.
Yes, as a listener below me said: you might know Don't Fear the Reaper, Godzilla, or a few of their other "hits", but you haven't heard nothing yet until you check out their first three releases. Blue Oyster Cult, Secret Treaties and Tyranny and Mutation.
And yes, Metallica did a fun cover of this song also.
Yes, as a listener below me said: you might know Don't Fear the Reaper, Godzilla, or a few of their other "hits", but you haven't heard nothing yet until you check out their first three releases. Blue Oyster Cult, Secret Treaties and Tyranny and Mutation.
And yes, Metallica did a fun cover of this song also.
A linguistic pedant writes: what the feck is the point of using an O with an umlaut in the band name? Is it Blue Erster Cult? Is Motörhead Moterhead? No.
Just about the best advice anyone has ever given me was to checkout the first three BOC albums. Got them used for $2 apiece at a local record store. Simply the best.
I love how their logo is three exclamation marks and a question mark. How GEEKY is THAT? Of course, two of them were attending my engineering school before they started BOC.
some old prog works, while others
If someone told me this song was Reiner's inspiration for Spinal Tap, I'd believe it.
Monkeysdad wrote:
Like so many acts, this one had it's time and is now only a fond memory, better stuff is played on RP, now and then they remind us of our past.
This song is not a fond memory for me .. I am not sure I have ever heard it. I am not crazy about it .. but at the very least it reminds me of how I value the variety on RP. And as for descriptions of pretention .. it was what was going on way back then ...
...awesome!..such a perfect followup from inside job, too...
...BOC's entire career through 1987 was about building up to imaginos - it's always fantastic to hear the seeds of that opus...
I can totally hear/see Tenacious D doing this one. It's practically Jack Black already.
alotlikeyou wrote:
Needs a cowbell.
Sure...But what doesn't?
Bleyfusz wrote:
Scorpions do make me vomit as well (afortunately, never heard them on RP) but there's a HUGE ABBYS between them and BÃC, as there is, by the way, between BÃC and most of the bands of this genre they were co-founders of. Nonetheless, I admit that a better song could have been chosen, especially from Secret Treaties.
Give me some Godzilla, Burnin' For You or Don't Fear the Reaper.
Keep this.
hello, Spinal Tap!
runaway wrote:
Someone said 'pretentious' and that pretty much sums it up. In this song they sound just like the German band Scorpions who make me cringe as well. The only good song BOC ever did was Don't fear the Reaper, and that one is just creepy and probably egged on more than a few teen suicides. Two thumbs down.
Scorpions do make me vomit as well (fortunately, never heard them on RP) but there's a HUGE ABYSS between them and BÖC, as there is, by the way, between BÖC and most of the bands of this genre they were co-founders of. Nonetheless, I admit that a better song could have been chosen, especially from Secret Treaties.Someone said 'pretentious' and that pretty much sums it up. In this song they sound just like the German band Scorpions who make me cringe as well. The only good song BOC ever did was Don't fear the Reaper, and that one is just creepy and probably egged on more than a few teen suicides. Two thumbs down.
Great! More BÃC please, if possible from the older stuff (Extraterrestial Live and previous)!!
Didn't mind at all, considering.
Not the most representative track from the AOR era. Laughably pretentious, too.
leviramsey wrote:
This is the song that got me into BOC... I'm not sure if I like the original version or Metallica's cover more, though.
Yes, I think it's time to go listen to some Metallica. Some S&M would clean this outta the head nicely.
alotlikeyou wrote:
Needs a cowbell.
Needs a cow.
Like so many acts, this one had it's time and is now only a fond memory, better stuff is played on RP, now and then they remind us of our past.
Needs a cowbell.
A song from the fringe with conspicuous mainstream trappings.
Gotta agree with ncollingridge on this one. I love BOC, but this just doesn\'t hold up over time. It rocked me when I was 15 and stoned, but now........... bleh.
Major rock pomposity. Frankly glad to see that genre is dead, in spite of bullsh*t \"classic rock\" station programming.
Sorry - I can\'t cope with the unrestrained pomposity of this. It reminds me of the worst aspects of seventies prog-rock. Give me Led Zep any day. I can\'t believe this is the same band that did \"Don\'t Fear the Reaper\" which was a great track because it was so imaginative and lacked the pathetic self-importance of tracks like this.
I got introduced to this song by the version they released on \"Imaginos\" in 1988. Supposedly they started recording the music for it in 1982, so who knows who played on the version I heard.
I prefer the c.1988 version to this one, but that\'s probably because I rocked out on it when I was 17 and not on this version. This one gets a 7. The c.1988 version gets a 9, tho.
Please, stop the cruelty!
No more space-rock!
Reminds me of high school field trips to the planetarium to see the rock laser shos. I\'m frightened.
Mommy!
Satanists!!!! :D
Wow, time to play B-sides!
I've read a lot of comments ragging on the use of 'hey' in modern music, all of it I agree with. Here we have a vintagey tune that has a lot of 'hey' in it. Why is it not a problem here? Because here, each one was recorded live and has slight variation/nuance that doesn't sting the ear. It's sung by real humans, each time, and not recorded once, tweaked, and then cut and pasted everywhere. There's something to be said for the older recording process, in capturing authentic moments that resonate with emotion, even when it's just a 'hey'.
Paul McCartney has a story about his father and the song "She Loves You"
“We sat there one evening, just beavering away while my dad was watching TV and smoking his Player cigarettes, while we wrote 'She Loves You'.
“We actually finished it there because we'd started it in a hotel room.
“We went into the living room - 'Dad, listen to this. What do you think?'
“So we played it to my dad and he said, 'That's very nice, son. But there's
enough of this Americanisms around. Couldn't you sing, 'She loves you. Yes! Yes! Yes!'
“At which point we collapsed into a heap and said, 'No, Dad, you don't quite get it.'
“That's my classic story about my dad. For a working-class guy that was rather a
middle-class thing to say, really. But he was like that.”