Phèdre (originally Phèdre et Hippolyte) is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677.
With Phèdre, Racine chose once more a subject from Greek mythology, already treated by Greek and Roman tragic poets, notably by Euripides in Hippolytus and Seneca in Phaedra. In the absence of her royal husband Thésée, Phèdre ends by declaring her love to Hippolyte, Thésée's son from a previous marriage.
As a result of an intrigue by the Duchess of Bouillon and other friends of the aging Pierre Corneille, the play was not a success at its première on 1 January 1677 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, home of the royal troupe of actors in Paris. Indeed a rival group staged a play by the now forgotten playwright Nicolas Pradon on an almost identical theme. After Phèdre, Racine ceased writing plays on secular themes and devoted himself to the service of religion and the king until 1689, when he was commissioned to write Esther by Madame de Maintenon, the morganatic second wife of Louis XIV.
I thought I was able
I got lost in the fable
fields are filled with witches
curses keep us in stitches
from here on out
At night outside the window
desires unwind themselves
I thought I saw angels
I got locked in the tangles
fields are filled with crickets
curses keep us in business
Take that kiss from your lips
begin this consequence
down to where the fires grow
found in hearts and gaping holes
sound it out in lost controls
mouths and tongues on telephones
and they hardly
And I believe we're all alone
landing on the rocks below
drowning out the crowded notes
burning maps nowhere to go
and I believe in all the ghosts
laughing at our skin and bones
the dirty words we love the most
stranded in our silent throats
and they hardly know
And I believe we're torn apart
staring at these parking lots
a thousand miles of faded thoughts
wasted plans are wasted on
my belief in all the scars
practicing to leave a mark
branded in the darkest parts
back again to where it starts
and they hardly know
And I believe we'll come apart
strangled in your dying arms
days will vanish into stars
final slash and false alarms
and i believe we're all erased
taping over every face
static memories replace
saturate it all
Compositionists try
to capture the nights
on papers with pens
to see them again
Computationers try
to make up our minds
with miracle cures
but this one's for sure
some day we'll die
but not tonight
Some day we'll die
All your beautiful dreams
your new wave magazines
in your latest blue jeans
all the fated machines
All the parties we go
hypnotizingly slow
color bars and remotes
all the possible notes
Animals and science
mobile homes and climates
capitols and eyesores
No stars out tonight
no cars hit their lights
your last enterprise
no sparks left inside
no hearts left alive
you're lost in the lights
all night long
No darkness survives
no wrongs make it right
you're locked in their sights
all night long
we'll keep it up this time
When you make that sound
I can't get back out
when you scream and shout
I can't get that loud
when we spin around
I can't hit the ground
when we come back down
I can't make a sound
There are things
that make me scared
but I don't care anymore
we are balanced
and we are advanced
and we are damaged
When days were gold and nights were long
We never meant to cause you harm
"We only get one chance" you said
"I'm tired of this all"
Now days are cold and nights are gone
We never get to call you up
"I don't expect to last" you said
Scientists discovered the monoliths
that detail the origins
for all of these modern myths
Satellites are crashing into the sea
they're crashing for you and me
and everyone will see
I'm not sound-dots
polygraphs or modern math
The daylight has begun
and details are deleting
the words from microphones
are falling all around us
no one can hear the sound
our hearts are all repeating
the choruses were formed
to colorize the static
Dead roads, red lights
dead ends in sight
The morning has begun
and warning signs are singing
the words inside the songs
are crawling all around us
no one can hear the sounds
our hearts are all receiving
the choruses record
the plots on the planet
Dead roads, red lights
dead ends inside
All the sights
all the sounds
on the better part of town
all the lights in the skies
in the middle of the night
all the ghosts in the ground
and the devils in our mouths
in the dark
in the stars