The tropical rain of Peru fell across his face; it was different from New York's cold, but it still chilled him. He was fully aware that even while his mind brimmed with everything, even if he flinched and began to feel his body freeze, none of that mattered—getting wet felt liberating. A small tarp sheltered the sound equipment while the band saved themselves from the relentless downpour that seemed never to stop.
- —hora de la lluvia. —Billy said.
"Revelations" (Audioslave) — a raw rock song that recalls the '80s with such craft that anyone stepping aside would nod their head. The way the bass hits and breathes life into the rock is one of Billy's strengths; his voice rasped.
🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶
You know what to do
You know what I did
Since you know everything, just clue me in
I am such a wreck
I am such a mess
I know what I know
Why don't you fill in the rest?
I will bring it down
I will make it bad
While you're feeling proud
Why don't you help me?
Such a shame that I wouldn't know by now
Your revelations
Cut me in
I don't want to live without
Your revelations, revelations
🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶
It's an anthem that lets people know his singing can be a challenge, so it naturally brings a test. Anyone not paying attention might think it's a song of anger, of dancing, or some stunt set for Billy, but it's a shame it's not that simple. It's a way of saying he doesn't want to be in life, and that puts a man under a catalogue of desires to end his life, egging for a soul's repentance that refuses to rest anywhere else, and that side is the deep self-hatred he carries. Billy has voiced his most suicidal thoughts for nearly half an era; he doesn't want to delay those fugitive thoughts of himself.
As the rain pounded, people gathered in a place they called Reasoning. Several circles formed, each running and striking in a flock of blows—magnificent punishments of curses—and without yielding, each carried out a furious reprisal, continually disrupting themselves.
-It's fucking madness. – said a kid who was completely caught in the punches and fists; they were chased and swept up in a spiral of madness. Some fell, others simply bled from the nose, and no one asked for it to stop or for help to step aside.
🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶
You know what to say.
You know what I said
You know what I dream about when sleeping in my bed
You hold all the keys
You know all the rules
Why don't you guide me in if I'm such a lost soul?
I'm spinning around
I will make you ill
Since I'm so broken down, why don't you fix me?
Such a shame that I wouldn't know by now
Your revelations
Cut me in
I don't want to live without
Your revelations
🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶
-This is what a Billy concert is. – whispered Scarlet, watching with a crazed, graphic fascination at the blows. As each moment passed, she felt a little stunned seeing 50,000 people move like an ant sea, each finding their position and trying not to get caught in the near-inhuman indifference.
-Then I can only say from the bottom of my heart that I never imagined people could be so insane. – Scarlett told Michael Ocklars, almost undecided and barely mustering the courage to sing in such choruses or to do a music tour with Billy. Letting herself go on a road trip was a second rule of Billy's; he wanted an old-fashioned tour, with groupies and the rest—letting everything flow.
-A riotous crowd. – Michael commented. – Jerry's been telling me for a while that it's almost understandable, but the mosh pit is something that's been around since the '60s; if the crowd didn't let loose, they weren't facing a true legend. –
-Well, then I'm just grateful to be in the VIP area. – Scarlett replied.
🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶
I am haunted when I am sleeping
Try to give without receiving
It's in the apple bite
It's in the days and nights
In the afterlife, we'll reap
Such a shame that I wouldn't know by now
Your revelations
Cut me in
I don't want to live without
Your revelations
Such a shame, such a shame
That I wouldn't know by now
Cut me in
I don't want to live without
Your revelations, revelations
🎶🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶
A brutal trait, a fierce edge that took them to the ultimate limit—the true truth.
Group of remembrance.
-Well, that was good. – Billy said, almost washed out; his white shirt outlined his abs and every other part. Seeing him breathe made them sigh. They turned on some heaters so she wouldn't want him to fail.
He took off his shirt, leaving himself exposed.
-This is a great dance. – Billy said, now thinking about the second song. Lima was livelier, the peace held, then Quito and Bogotá, giving everything for Caracas and other destinations, moving up to Panama and other countries where danger wasn't necessary, then on to the United States, resuming in Eastern Europe, Australia, and some countries in Asia—a year already fully booked, especially if the new film he was supposed to act in came together.
...