Rush:Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres
From LyricWiki
This song is performed by Rush and appears on the album Hemispheres (1978) and on the album R30 (2005).
I. Prelude
When our weary world was young
The struggle of the ancients first began.
The gods of Love and Reason
Sought alone to rule the fate of Man.
They battled through the ages,
But still neither force would yield.
The people were divided,
Every soul a battlefield.
II. Apollo: Bringer of Wisdom
"I bring truth and understanding,
I bring wit and wisdom fair,
Precious gifts beyond compare.
We can build a world of wonder,
I can make you all aware.
I will find you food and shelter,
Show you fire to keep you warm
Through the endless winter storm.
You can live in grace and comfort
In the world that you transform."
The people were delighted
Coming forth to claim their prize
They ran to build their cities
And converse among the wise.
But one day the streets fell silent,
Yet they knew not what was wrong.
The urge to build these fine things
Seemed not to be so strong.
The wise men were consulted,
And the Bridge of Death was crossed
In quest of Dionysus,
To find out what they had lost.
III. Dionysus: Bringer of Love
"I bring love to give you solace
In the darkness of the night,
In the Heart's eternal light.
You need only trust your feelings;
Only love can steer you right.
I bring laughter, I bring music,
I bring joy and I bring tears.
I will soothe your primal fears.
Throw off those chains of reason
And your prison disappears."
The cities were abandoned,
And the forests echoed song.
They danced and lived as brothers;
They knew love could not be wrong.
Food and wine they had aplenty
And they slept beneath the stars.
The people were contented
And the Gods watched from afar.
But the winter fell upon them
And it caught them unprepared,
Bringing wolves and cold starvation,
And the hearts of men despaired.
IV. Armageddon: The Battle of Heart and Mind
The Universe divided
As the Heart and Mind collided,
With the people left unguided
For so many troubled years.
In a cloud of doubts and fears,
Their world was torn asunder into hollow Hemispheres.
Some fought themselves, some fought each other.
Most just followed one another,
Lost and aimless like their brothers,
For their hearts were so unclear,
And the truth could not appear.
Their spirits were divided into blinded Hemispheres.
Some who did not fight
Brought tales of old to light.
My Rocinante' sailed by night
On her final flight.
To the heart of Cygnus' fearsome force
We set our course.
Spiralled through that timeless space
To this immortal place.
V. Cygnus: Bringer of Balance
I have memory and awareness,
But I have no shape or form.
As a disembodied spirit,
I am dead and yet unborn.
I have passed into Olympus
As was told in tales of old,
To the city of Immortals,
Marble white and purest gold.
I see the gods in battle rage on high
Thunderbolts across the sky.
I cannot move, I cannot hide,
I feel a silent scream begin inside.
Then all at once the chaos ceased.
A stillness fell, a sudden peace.
The warriors felt my silent cry
And stayed their struggle, mystified.
Apollo was astonished;
Dionysus thought me mad.
But they heard my story further,
And they wondered, and were sad.
Looking down from Olympus
On a world of doubt and fear,
Its surface splintered
Into sorry Hemispheres.
They sat a while in silence,
Then they turned at last to me.
"We will call you Cygnus,
The god of Balance you shall be."
VI. The Sphere: A Kind of Dream
We can walk our road together
If our goals are all the same.
We can run alone and free
If we pursue a different aim.
Let the truth of love be lighted,
Let the love of truth shine clear.
Sensibility, armed with sense and liberty,
With the Heart and Mind united in a single perfect Sphere.
When our weary world was young
The struggle of the ancients first began.
The gods of Love and Reason
Sought alone to rule the fate of Man.
They battled through the ages,
But still neither force would yield.
The people were divided,
Every soul a battlefield.
II. Apollo: Bringer of Wisdom
"I bring truth and understanding,
I bring wit and wisdom fair,
Precious gifts beyond compare.
We can build a world of wonder,
I can make you all aware.
I will find you food and shelter,
Show you fire to keep you warm
Through the endless winter storm.
You can live in grace and comfort
In the world that you transform."
The people were delighted
Coming forth to claim their prize
They ran to build their cities
And converse among the wise.
But one day the streets fell silent,
Yet they knew not what was wrong.
The urge to build these fine things
Seemed not to be so strong.
The wise men were consulted,
And the Bridge of Death was crossed
In quest of Dionysus,
To find out what they had lost.
III. Dionysus: Bringer of Love
"I bring love to give you solace
In the darkness of the night,
In the Heart's eternal light.
You need only trust your feelings;
Only love can steer you right.
I bring laughter, I bring music,
I bring joy and I bring tears.
I will soothe your primal fears.
Throw off those chains of reason
And your prison disappears."
The cities were abandoned,
And the forests echoed song.
They danced and lived as brothers;
They knew love could not be wrong.
Food and wine they had aplenty
And they slept beneath the stars.
The people were contented
And the Gods watched from afar.
But the winter fell upon them
And it caught them unprepared,
Bringing wolves and cold starvation,
And the hearts of men despaired.
IV. Armageddon: The Battle of Heart and Mind
The Universe divided
As the Heart and Mind collided,
With the people left unguided
For so many troubled years.
In a cloud of doubts and fears,
Their world was torn asunder into hollow Hemispheres.
Some fought themselves, some fought each other.
Most just followed one another,
Lost and aimless like their brothers,
For their hearts were so unclear,
And the truth could not appear.
Their spirits were divided into blinded Hemispheres.
Some who did not fight
Brought tales of old to light.
My Rocinante' sailed by night
On her final flight.
To the heart of Cygnus' fearsome force
We set our course.
Spiralled through that timeless space
To this immortal place.
V. Cygnus: Bringer of Balance
I have memory and awareness,
But I have no shape or form.
As a disembodied spirit,
I am dead and yet unborn.
I have passed into Olympus
As was told in tales of old,
To the city of Immortals,
Marble white and purest gold.
I see the gods in battle rage on high
Thunderbolts across the sky.
I cannot move, I cannot hide,
I feel a silent scream begin inside.
Then all at once the chaos ceased.
A stillness fell, a sudden peace.
The warriors felt my silent cry
And stayed their struggle, mystified.
Apollo was astonished;
Dionysus thought me mad.
But they heard my story further,
And they wondered, and were sad.
Looking down from Olympus
On a world of doubt and fear,
Its surface splintered
Into sorry Hemispheres.
They sat a while in silence,
Then they turned at last to me.
"We will call you Cygnus,
The god of Balance you shall be."
VI. The Sphere: A Kind of Dream
We can walk our road together
If our goals are all the same.
We can run alone and free
If we pursue a different aim.
Let the truth of love be lighted,
Let the love of truth shine clear.
Sensibility, armed with sense and liberty,
With the Heart and Mind united in a single perfect Sphere.
[edit] Credits
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