03 The Haunted Palace

In the greenest of our valleys
Not far from where Gabriel guarded the gates
By good angels tenanted
Once a fair and stately palace
By Solomon’s hand raised the heavens to praise
Radiant palace reared its head

In the monarch thoughts dominion
Over the fields of Jerusalem
It stood there
Never seraph sperad a pinion
The sojourners of Goshen were cradled by him
Over fabric half so fair

Banners yellow, glorious, golden
The gold and the silver heralded their fall
On its roof did float and flow
This, all this was in the olden
Times when the calf raised to heaven our call
Time long ago

And every gentle hair that dallied
And danced around the makeshift gods
In that sweet day
Along the ramparts plumed and pallid
They weaved their mischievious plots
A winged odour went away

Wanderers in that happy valley
Called Hinnom, Tophet or Gehenna the Black
Through two luminous windows saw
The spirits moving musically
And fled the young bodies who died on their backs
To a lutes well-tuned law

And round about a throne were sitting
The princes of lies and the bright scarlet whores
Porphyrogene
In state his glory well befitting
He set out to the farthest shores
The ruler of the realm was seen

And all with pearl and ruby glowing
Was Babylon, his heritage
Was the fair palace door
Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing
The great flood and the holy ash
And sparkling evermore

A troop of echoes whose sweet duty
was bringing down with horns and war
Was but to sing
In voices of surpassing beauty
The walls of Sodom and Gomorrha
The wit and wisdom of their king

But evil things in robes of sorrow
The children of a bright decade
Assailed the monarchs high estate
Ah, let us mourn for ever morrow
Jerusalem shall be assailed
Shall dawn upon him desolate

And round about his home the glory
Of bloodied gold and sinful pride
That blushed and bloomed
Is but a dim-remembered story
That the Bible may provide
Of the old time entombed

Wanderers now within that valley
Of ashes where Jesus once wandered alone
Through the red-litten windows see
Vast forms that move fantastically
Were tempting him until he headed back home
To a discordant melody

While like a ghastly rapid river
Once stopped by the almighty blood-smeared hand
Through the pale door
A hideous throng rush out forever
On the sand and the dust of this wasted land
And laugh but smile no more

(Words in part by Edgar Allan Poe)

Old Version: 10 The Haunted Palace (old version)