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"Xanadu"
A "Mermaid's Scar" songfic
by Shunsuke -|||
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"I have crossed the last mountain range. At last, I look upon
the eastern oceans, the lands of these strange people, with
secrets kept for so long. Soon, though I shall discover and take
the greatest of them all. I shall be king for all eternity!"
"To seek the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
To break my fast on honeydew
And drink the milk of Paradise..."
"For the past one and twenty years, I have searched. At the cost
of gold many times my own weight, and the price of five...nay,
twenty men's souls, I have struggled and studied. At long last,
I have pieced together the secrets."
I had heard the whispered tales of immortality
The deepest mystery
From an ancient book I took a clue
"My maps have been carefully drawn, from legends of old, from
books of the trade routes, from divinations of fortune tellers.
At long last, I venture on board the fishing vessel I hired. The
fools hold the rudder, not knowing they steer the way toward the
first true king of the world. Alexander, Genghis Khan, all shall
pale in comparison to me, be but dust motes in the hourglass of
time!"
I scaled the frozen mountain tops
of eastern lands unknown
Time and Man alone
Searching for the lost Xanadu
"A glimpse! A fin, splashing in the water! Though these boatmen
cower in fear at the sight of the mermaid, they fear more the
strange weapon I hold, a firearm from the west. When one falls
to my shot and powder, their fear of the mermaid ceases."
Xanadu...
To stand within the Pleasure Dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste anew the fruits of life
The last immortal man
"With much effort spent on the best part of the day, we finally
land a mermaid. To see its eyes is magnificent. This living,
vibrant, colourful creature, an eternity of knowledge inside its
mind, soon to me mine, soon to grant me the greatest gift of all,
the power to cheat death."
To find the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
Oh, I will dine on honeydew
And drink the milk of Paradise
"Oh, truly the cut of the flesh is awe inspiring. The howls of
the creature drive some of the crew to leap overboard to their
deaths, but only goads me forward. The blood of the mermaid,
pulsing like sweet flowing waters from a spring, the writhing of
the creature, like that of a mother in labour, set to give birth
to an immortal. I taste the sweet nectar of the flesh for the
first time...."
* * * * *
"Oh, my god in heaven, where does it end? I suffer no bodily
pain, only the pain of soul, a pain far greater than any could
imagine...."
A thousand years have come and gone
but time has passed me by
Stars stopped in the sky
Frozen in an everlasting view
"I cannot die I cannot die I cannot die...PLEASE KILL ME!!!!"
Waiting for the world to end, weary of the night
Praying for the light
Prison of the lost - Xanadu
"I weep with each sunset, taunted by the memory of my existence,
and by the forgetfulness of how to live. I do not know names, I
cannot speak but in babels...I am a lost soul, a prisoner in a
body, with a life sentence of eternity. To be called mad, to be
locked away, I have outlived the walls and my keepers. I run
free, even as the cloth rots from my arms and body. Buildings
fall and rise around me, sun, moon, their surfaces change more
than I, a world of wonder surrounds me and I cannot comprehend
it. How long has it been? The landmarks I had used to measure
time, the mountains and rocks, even if I could find them again,
would they even be there anymore?"
Xanadu...
Held within the Pleasure Dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste my bitter triumph
As a mad immortal man
"I stare at the sea, though it gives me no comfort. I could
not drown myself even if I wished to try. The waves lap up on
the shore, and though there be motion in the water, the fin of
the mermaid is not to be seen. Have I lived so long that not
even the mermaids exist anymore?"
Nevermore shall I return
Escape these caves of ice
For I have dined on honeydew
And drunk the milk of Paradise
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"Xanadu" - music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson,
lyrics by Neal Peart
As recorded by RUSH on their 1977 album,
"A Farewell To Kings"
"I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand."
- Warren Zevon,
"Werewolves of London"