The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Hear the rime of the ancient marinerSee his eye as he stops one of threeMesmerises one of the wedding guestsStay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea.
And the music plays on, as the bride passes byCaught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale.
Driven south to the land of the snow and iceTo a place where nobody's beenThrough the snow fog flies on the albatrossHailed in god's name, hoping good luck it brings.
And the ship sails on, back to the northThrough the fog and ice and the albatross follows on.
The mariner kills the bird of good omenHis shipmates cry against what he's doneBut when the fog clears, they justify himAnd make themselves a part of the crime.
Sailing on and on and north across the seaSailing on and on and north 'til all is calm.
The albatross begins with it's vengeanceA terrible curse a thirst has begunHis shipmates blame bad luck on the marinerAbout his neck, the dead bird is hung.
And the curse goes on and on at seaAnd the curse goes on and on for them and me.
'Day after day, day after day,we stuck nor breath nor motionAs idle as a painted ship upon a painted oceanWater, water everywhere andall the boards did shrinkWater, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.'
There calls the marinerThere comes a ship over the lineBut how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide.
See... onward she comesOnward she nears out of the sunSee, she has no crewShe has no life, wait but here's two.
Death and she life in death,They throw their dice for the crewShe wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.Then... crew one by oneThey drop down dead, two hundred menShe... she, life in death.She lets him live, her chosen one.
'One after one by the star dogged moon,Too quick for groan or sighEach turned his facce with a ghastly pangAnd cursed me with his eyeFour times fifty living men(And I heard nor sigh nor groan)With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,They dropped down one by one.'
The curse it lives on in their eyesThe mariner wished he'd dieAlong with the sea creaturesBut they lived on, so did he.
And by the light of the moonHe prays for their beauty not doomWith heart he blesses themGod's creatures all of them too.
Then the spell starts to breakThe albatross falls from his neckSinks down like lead into the seaThen down in falls comes the rain.
Hear the groans of the long dead seamenSee them stir and they start to riseBodies lifted by good spiritsNone of them speak and they're lifelesss in their eyes
And revenge is still sought, penance starts againCast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.
Now the curse is finally liftedAnd the mariner sights his homeSpirits go fromhe long dead bodiesForm their own light and the mariner's left alone.
And then a boat came sailing towards himIt was a joy he could not believeThe pilot's boat, his son and the hermit,Penance of life will fall onto him.
And the ship sinks like lead into the seaAnd the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins.
The mariner's bound to tell of his storyTo tell this tale wherever he goesTo teach god's word by his own exampleThat we must love all things thaat God made.
And the wedding guest's a sad and wiser manAnd the tale goes on and on and on.