A cataract is a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope (lens capsule), varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light. Early in the development of age-related cataract, the power of the lens may be increased, causing near-sightedness (myopia), and the gradual yellowing and opacification of the lens may reduce the perception of blue colors. Cataracts typically progress slowly to cause vision loss, and are potentially blinding if untreated. The condition usually affects both eyes, but almost always one eye is affected earlier than the other.
A senile cataract, occurring in the elderly, is characterized by an initial opacity in the lens, subsequent swelling of the lens and final shrinkage with complete loss of transparency. Moreover, with time the cataract cortex liquefies to form a milky white fluid in a Morgagnian cataract, which can cause severe inflammation if the lens capsule ruptures and leaks. Untreated, the cataract can cause phacomorphic glaucoma. Very advanced cataracts with weak zonules are liable to dislocation anteriorly or posteriorly. Such spontaneous posterior dislocations (akin to the historical surgical procedure of couching) in ancient times were regarded as a blessing from the heavens, because some perception of light was restored in the cataractous patients.
Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
Trained in the Suzuki method from the age of four, Bird graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1991 and Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in violin performance in 1996. That same year he self-released his first solo album, Music of Hair. Vastly different from his later work, this album showcased his violin skills and paid tribute to his fascination with both American and European folk traditions, as well as jazz and blues. Following this, his initial commercial exposure came through collaborative work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers, appearing on three of their albums (Hot, Sold Out, and Perennial Favorites) between 1996 and 1998.
Taking on the role of bandleader, Bird released Thrills on Rykodisc in 1997 with his group Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, shortly followed by second album Oh! The Grandeur in 1998. Both albums were heavily influenced by traditional folk, pre-war jazz, and swing, with Bird relying on the violin as his primary musical instrument, as well as providing vocals along with his trademark verbose lyrics. The Bowl of Fire featured musicians from Bird's home town of Chicago, including Kevin O'Donnell, Joshua Hirsch, Nora O'Connor, Andy Hopkins, Jimmy Sutton, Colin Bunn, and Ryan Hembrey. During this period, Andrew Bird was a member of the jazz group Kevin O'Donnells Quality Six, for which he was the lead singer and violinist and contributed to arrangements and songwriting for the albums Heretic Blues (Delmark 1999) and Control Freak (Delmark 2000) (both Delmark albums were produced by Raymond Salvatore Harmon).
Into the Sea we'd wade forward with hope and ease
And no trace of memory
Our Sun that watches high above so fervently
Would shine Prophetically
Into the Sea we move forward with hope and ease
And no trace of memory
How long had we been sleeping?
And in our Dreams had we envisioned what would come to pass?
But I see Now I see
Into the night we'd move forth with certainty
And no trace of memory
Our Sun that watches high above so fervently
Would shine Prophetically
How long had we been sleeping?
And in our Dreams had we envisioned what would come to pass?
We'd watch the planets realign to form a Circle of Security
While we Radiate
But I see I see
Now I can see
(And my eyes are Open)
Silence rains like Hail down before me
The words lost in my throat again
Silence reigns like hell all around me
The words burned in my throat again
The words lost in my throat again
Let it roll across the shore
Sweet Euphoria
Behind a mask with no eyes
There is the monolith of a face
I can not escape from
Your abhorrent embrace
Are you my verdict
Or are you my curse
Deep within myself
I feel the hatred grows
[X2]
Cataracts
The fear of madness
Devouring from inside
Eclipsing the light...
So many years of pain
My punishment is not over yet
They will never forgive
They will never forget
So fill my veins with poison
Fill my heart with fear
Fill my throat with scream
Like a child I watched you
I pledged my life
With a heart so big
And understanding so real
You were a man like me
I place myself
Not by the sound of church bells
But a yard from....Hell
Set up a rescue shop
I saw these bodies, walk in the field where I once
walked
Their hands are bound, their eyes are covered
I see them move, they are staggering across time
Living in vain for life to find them
All I wanted is truth.
All I wanted was something that I, could hold onto.
And I will hold you close.
Cause I'd been searching for so long, 'till I found
you.
I was sick, my guilt it pinned me to the floor
You forced my ugliness out like vomit.
I was scarred, I felt like I stomached a bomb
But peace found me like scars cover punctures
My eyes, give me no light
While my senses, fail me
My bones, remember how they'd shake
And I'm never going back
All I wanted is truth.
All I wanted was something that I, could hold onto.
And I will hold you close.
Cause I'd been searching for so long, 'till I found
you.
My eyes, give me no light
While my senses, fail me
My bones, remember how they'd shake
And I'm never going back
My eyes, give me no light
While my senses, fail me
My bones, remember how they used to shake
When our mouths are filled with univited tongues of others
And thew strays are pining for their unrequited mothers
Milk that sours is promptly spat
Light will fill our eyes like cats
And they shall enter from the back
With spears and scepters and squirming sacks
Scribs and tangles between their ears
Faceless scrumbled charcoal smears
Through the coppice and the chaparral
The thickets thick with mold
The bracken and the brier
Catchweed into the fold
When our mouths are filled with uninvited tongues of others
And the strays are pining for their unrequited mothers
Milk that sour is promptly spat
The light will fill our eyes like cats
So stare and
Look at the colors they glow so another can view
Through the signs
Only one way to hold it together
It’s time that somebody let go
Of the line
(Chorus):
It’s the air I breathe in
Poisoning so long
It's a moment, a feeling
When all my world's gone wrong
It’s the air I breathe in
Holding in so long
It's a moment, a feeling
What the hell took so long?
Wait, see now
Patiently summer while fuckheads discover
Their two car garage
All I want is a chance to discover
What else may become of this place
So designed
(Chorus)
This will be
The last time
You lie
To me
But the holding takes so long
Breathing gathers sound
Sounds to burden song
I’ve been holding in so long
For one day we
Pretend we're something else
See by the light of today into the night
Throw, we’ve
Words that don't mean
And a shout that's bled into a sigh
Left to die
Cut these thorns and kick these stones, and keep those
birds at bay.
Plant deep and dark, and help my heart receive the words
you say.
The words you say are somehow lost on me, they die on
deafened ears; when you open -
Up your mount to speak I hear but I can't hear the words
you say.
Pin me down, and take away this heart of stone, wind and
sound, awake my old dry bones.
Help my heart perceive the light of day. I stumble
through a darkened vale, with a veil -
Cast over me and cataracts, all is black. O, I see but I
can't see the light of day.
I'll fight or run to keep from going under the knife;
don't let me slip away.
'Cause though the blade is sharp, I know you're saving my
Take me
Take me back, take me back, take me back
I cannot stand this, I cannot live
This is a mistake
This is a mistake
This... is... a mistake... you are (x2)
A mistake
So, so long since I've been here
So long and now I'm here again
Your face always connected
To memories, of this place
I remember...
Your voice always reminded me (x2)
Of...