871 ?The banks of the cooling stream
rose up to a twisting road
That we followed protected by the stream
That rose from the fire that fell and flowed
through that deserted land
Running and collecting, the whole country glowed
“With the fiery issue of the fiery hand
Some are persecuted”
My guide said squinting out over the burning sand
“A truth that cannot be refuted”
A voice said to my left
I looked down and saw a face burned and sooted
Gazing cooly up at me, said in a voice bereft
“Didn’t expect to see you down here kid,
And as I paused at a place where the stream cleft
Into two paths he said “for the things I did
I am not allowed to pause or rest
Lest the throw me in the pot and drop the lid
So walk along I’ll do my best
to follow you and hear of your strange journey
it seems you are given a strange test
usually the turnkey
turns back the under dead
And never to return we
lost souls stay where the fire rains down on your head
so what brings you here man
what do you think of what you’ve seen and what you’ve heard said”
I said “old teacher this is not my plan
and I don’t really know why I’m down here
And looking back over the course I ran
I don’t see much object that’s clear
to me of what the hell
Exactly sort of moral is supposed to appear
What I’m seeing is ringing every bell
I know I still am far astray
Does it all lead back to where I fell”
He said “you got no choice but to take the way
you’re led to by the light
Follow your light and as a new day
Dawns you will be rewarded with a sight
That’s all I know and I know I’m right”
This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here
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