Coming down from Willow’s Peak,
Still enchanted by the whispered tales of once.
Blossoms gleaming at my feet,
And I know that somewhere there is still a distant sun.

I cannot recall the light being that bright
That it’s blinding my ears with the noise.
I cannot recall the snow being that white,
Wrapping me in a cold lonely voice.

I cannot recall myself being that deaf
That I couldn’t see tears in your eyes.
I cannot recall myself being that dead
That I couldn’t tell any more lies.

Yes, somehow I recall the towers to fall,
Somewhere I remember the fires of ember.
But I didn’t expect all my visions to fade
Or the silence to be ever so great.

And when the fight is over, let me weep for the damned
And when the cities shatter, place the ruins on my side.
Until the time when dead men rise to drive the darkness from the land
I hide into the night and let silence be my guide.

When I returned here the streets ran with blood.
Smoking black ribs of the homes all around.
Pale and cold bodies of men I had found
And I spoke but they could hear me not.

Thus ends the legacy of Wolfsheim, a city proud and brave,
A dream of darkness and of light.
That has been buried here and now only the grave
Tells of a candle in the ocean of the night.

And on the last perfect day, when all is said and done,
When the last verse is written and gone
We may recognize our struggles have not all been in vain
And a great silence is all that remains.

The sky’s turning blue with the promise of dew,
The shadows of night disappear,
And as I left Wolfsheim in silence and tears,
A piece of my heart was still there.

I wandered on ways that might bring me disgrace,
Yet I dared not to turn back
‘Til at last my black fears I’d to face on a place
That I found at the end of the track.

Here I stand, alone in this wasteland,
Where dust yields no promise of life.
It runs out through the fingers of my hand,
Grain by grain and will never be heard of again.

These are the ashes of bridges burned behind me,
When I go I leave no trace at all.
And I know I had to go before the towers fall.
There’s always one side to the wall, always one side to the wall.

And I dream, I dream of sleep tonight, I’m tired of this fight.
But I won’t give up until there’s no more blood left to spill.
And I dream, I dream of freedom and pain, of laughter in the rain.
And of the day when no man has to stay where he stands.

And as I grow tired and fall on my knees,
A vision falls over the land.
It’s an image of Wolfsheim, the homes and the trees
And the friends that will lend me a hand.
So together we fight and as one we progress
’til at last we may lay down to rest.

There is water, I think I reached the sea.
I can feel it, yet unable to see.
Do you hear the ocean? Out there we will be free,
In the rising tide of Liberty.

Where’s the flood that will take us away?
Then with faith and good fortune we may
Reach the land of the free as in my memory.
And our vict’ry will be for Eternity.

Walking through Daltilon’s forest of thyme,
Looking for mem’ries that once have been mine.
Leaves rustling ‘neath my feet, autumn calls cold,
Rainclouds are rising, Sol sets on threshold.

Nearing a clearing the shadows grow tall.
A breeze grabs my robe and the stars seem to fall.
I call to my mind for a small spell of light,
As night rushes in, glow seem double as bright.

Come up a sign reading “Wolfsheim is near”.
As the wolves howl my direction is clear.
Bats fly against the moon, cry my way comes.
When the sun sinks men flee into their homes.

As I reach Wolfsheim and walk ‘long the street,
Bells ring against the moon, rain at my feet.
Inside a tavern of stories untold,
I met two travellers, two good friends of old.

One is a warrior, his honour’s his life,
He’s looking for the right ways, he’s in constant strife.
The other’s a preacher, one of true belief,
Defending the right faith and fighting deceive.

Retelling lifes and exchanging true names,
Finding we pursue right aims.
Wanting to change the world, want to be free.
A vision that just we can see.

Words are our weapons and faith is our shield
And our armour’s of sorrow and we’ll never yield, for the
Cause is our freedom, the right to decide,
The right to be different, the right of the night.
And we’re stepping up boldly, we’re putting up our hands
And we’re keeping high our banners as long as we stand.
Living a truth, making courage our sign
And wearing open our feelings in hands all the time.

Nobody sees us and nobody wants us and
Nobody calls us and nobody knows us,
There’s no understanding, there’s still the demanding,
There’s still the offending and no sign of ending,

And there’s just the big lie and there’s no time to die
And there’s only the sky and so we say goodbye.
And there’s only the warrior and only the priest
And there’s only the wizard and only belief.

As we leave Wolfsheim, horizon in flames,
A new day’s breaking and we know our aims.
My trail leads on, but wherever I’ll be,
There’s always a sad part of Wolfsheim in me.

And always a part of Wolfsheim we’ll be.

Now the willows bow their heads and shed their leaves
As if weeping for a time now gone.
And when I came to take a look into the pool,
I could see the fire of that distant sun.

Come, let us go, the war is over by now.
Take your time and leave Daltilon behind.

Seal the gates, leave the city, let the sand cover our dreams.
Dreams of magic, dreams of power, they’re all too true now so it seems.
Just hope for the walls to hold or we never will get old.

Show the mortals, show the gods how we make the heavens turn.
Let the stars climb down to eart and the sun our faces burn.
So we raised with rage and scorn the Ziggurat of Everon.

And they came, came one by one. Rising from the Netherwaters.
In the shadow of the sun, came with howling and with slaughter.
Tearing down the temple walls, running free as darkness falls.

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)

Every day I’m sitting on the cliffs and look beyond the sea.
My thoughts are soaring high above the storm that’s hanging over me
And carry me across the raging waves towards the shining shore,
The lands which oft are being told of both in legend and in lore.

And so one day I set out, bound to leave the company of men,
To leave the dismal euphony and never to come back again.
To dance forever underneath a bright and sided hollow sky
And laugh about the darkness that has long since passed me by.

Oh, to be there, in the lands, oh so fair.
Kiss the winds in the company of kings.

And after many a night at sea the shores of wonder came in sight.
Where I forever would be free without a struggle or a fight.
And as I looked for all the kings, I recognized that they were gone.
Here in the lands afar from home I seem to be the only one.

Oh, to be there, in the clouds everywhere,
Bring me on to where the gods are at home.
I’m travelling on, to that distant sun,
Where the light is on and the endless songs are sung.

There’s too much answer to be found behind the curtain of the night.
And I can see through all of it onto the other side.
The keeper of the city keys unlocks the door into the dream
And as I fall into the void noone can hear my lonely scream.

Now that I’m here, in the cold, empty air,
I can tell, these gods donít fare too well.
Come, let me go, youíre not good anyhow.
You’re the same as all the actors in the game.

Walking up to Willow’s Peak,
Sink into the clouds that race these endless skies.
Feel the earth beneath my feet.
They gather yonder at the pool where wisdom lies.

When I went down to this shore, yesterday or the day before,
They held images in the deep, scenes from legend and from lore.