Behind us was a ruckus, T.S. said ho showtime
We scrambled back up on our feet
A demon shouted hey you mortal slime
We made a swift retreat
But soon as we came up to the cliff’s brink
I said I think they’ve got us beat
But my guardian quick as a wink
Threw me over his shoulder
And slid down into the next sink
We took refuge behind a boulder
And looked up to see our demons pause
And seeing their trail had grown colder
Than they could follow they gave up their cause
And as they turned back we went on
T.S. said they were held to their own circle by the laws
That God had set down a very long
time ago, and soon we heard a loud,
raucous chorus of sighs and wails, and soon we came upon
A suffering and circling crowd
They were laden down with fearsome stones
These hypocrites carry the weight of all they vowed
in Judgment against their fellows and now they moan
For by the same sins they used to burden others
They stored up these weights when they were alone
The poet said, and circle eternally cheek to jowl one to another
Mind this lesson and never make haste
To add to the yoke of their brother
And one so burdened said who are these two so chaste
that they carry nothing at all
As they pass through the endless waste
Of all we poor casualties of the fall
I said well I’m a tourist here
But while you take a turn with you don’t take it for gall
If I ask you what brought you so near
to the center of hell’s great wheel
And he said I was one chosen to steer
the ship of state, to guide it’s keel
through rocky shoals in troubled waters
an office I rose to through influence and appeal
A thousand smiles and handshakes and kisses for the sons and daughters
But I had only evil and lust for power in my heart
And for power turned a blind eye to the slaughter
of innocents and played an instrumental part
In making my nation worse and weaker
That’s the politician’s special art
And he said to T.S. you and this mortal seeker
Go ahead and ask around
we’re all pretty much the same but I hear it’s even bleaker
upstairs, hypocrites every day even more abound
Just then we came upon a figure who
was staked out on the ground
And trod on by all who passed through
that circle of punishment
And our new companion said this one may be known to you
The father of politicians the statesman who sent
An innocent man to be staked to a tree
Simply because it was expedient
And T.S. said that’s sure a sight to see
but tell us friend ‘cause our’ schedule’s tight
Where’s the nearest bridge to the next circle of misery
He said the bridges are all down but bear to the right
And you’ll come upon a lowland
Where if you’re agile you just might
find the passage you demand
And that’s the best that I can say
And T.S. said well now don’t just stand
there we must be on our way
We gotta get through the rest of hell by the end of the day
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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