A Siouxsie and the Banshees song, one of the best on 1988's Peepshow. Now, I'll just be blunt. As wharfinger mentions in his excellent writeup for the band, Siouxsie's lyrics "always read like bad high-school poetry", and Ornaments of Gold is damn near the worse case of this that I can think of. It's so bad, that even when listening to it, I have to make sure not to pay too much attention to the lyrics themselves.† But the delivery... Siouxsie really goes all out, with a lot more force than is typical for her (even more than most of the tracks on The Scream). And looking beyond Siouxsie, the music itself is very unusual for them, reminding me primarily (for some reason) of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights. I will not provide all of the lyrics, due to copyright restrictions, but to give you the flavor of it:
Silver couches to recline upon
and ornaments of gold
Silver moonbeams dance in fountains
below shining citadels.
Surrounded by silver gates - ascending silver stairs
Eureka on angelic prayer - wafts in and scents the air
You can probably see how it goes from there. But still, pick up Peepshow and give it a listen (or find an MP3 somewhere, I don't care). It really is a good song, I promise.
DejaMorgana points out that, in fact, 'Ornaments of Gold' is the 43rd sura of the Quran, so presumably the Arabian Nights feel I get from hearing the song was intentional.
†: Most Banshees songs have lyrics that are bad to read, but sound good when heard. These are just plain bad.
CST Approved