Rime of the Ancient Mariner<br /> ******************************<br /> <br /> Hear the rime of the ancient mariner<br /> See his eye as he stops one of three<br /> Mesmerises one of the wedding guests<br /> Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea.<br /> <br /> And the music plays on, as the bride passes by<br /> Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale.<br /> <br /> Driven south to the land of the snow and ice<br /> To a place where nobody's been<br /> Through the snow fog flies on the albatross<br /> Hailed in God's name, hoping good luck it brings.<br /> <br /> And the ship sails on, back to the North<br /> Through the fog and ice and the albatross follows on.<br /> <br /> The mariner kills the bird of good omen<br /> His shipmates cry against what he's done<br /> But when the fog clears, they justify him<br /> And make themselves a part of the crime.<br /> <br /> Sailing on and on and north across the sea<br /> Sailing on and on and north 'til all is calm.<br /> <br /> The albatross begins with its vengeance<br /> A terrible curse a thirst has begun<br /> His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner<br /> About his neck, the dead bird is hung.<br /> <br /> And the curse goes on and on at sea<br /> And the verse goes on and on for them and me.<br /> <br /> "Day after day, day after day,<br /> we stuck nor breath nor motion<br /> as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean<br /> Water, water everywhere and<br /> all the boards did shrink<br /> Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink."<br /> <br /> There calls the mariner<br /> There comes a ship over the line<br /> But how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide.<br /> <br /> See...onward she comes<br /> Onward she nears out of the sun<br /> See, she has no crew<br /> She has no life, wait but there's two.<br /> <br /> Death and she Life in Death,<br /> They throw their dice for the crew<br /> She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.<br /> Then...crew one by one<br /> they drop down dead, two hundred men<br /> She...she, Life in Death.<br /> She lets him live, her chosen one.<br /> <br /> "One after one by the star dogged moon,<br /> too quick for groan or sigh<br /> each turned his face with a ghastly pang<br /> and cursed me with his eye<br /> four times fifty living men<br /> (and I heard nor sigh nor groan)<br /> with heavy thump, a lifeless lump,<br /> they dropped down one by one."<br /> <br /> The curse it lives on in their eyes<br /> The mariner he wished he'd die<br /> Along with the sea creatures<br /> But they lived on, so did he.<br /> <br /> And by the light of the moon<br /> He prays for their beauty not doom<br /> With heart he blesses them<br /> God's creatures all of them too.<br /> <br /> Then the spell starts to break<br /> The albatross falls from his neck<br /> Sinks down like lead into the sea<br /> Then down in falls comes the rain.<br /> <br /> Hear the groans of the long dead seamen<br /> See them stir and they start to rise<br /> Bodies lifted by good spirits<br /> None of them speak and they're lifelesss in their eyes<br /> <br /> And revenge is still sought, penance starts again<br /> Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.<br /> <br /> Now the curse is finally lifted<br /> And the mariner sights his home<br /> spirits go from the long dead bodies<br /> Form their own light and the mariner's left alone.<br /> <br /> And then a boat came sailing towards him<br /> It was a joy he could not believe<br /> The pilot's boat, his son and the hermit,<br /> Penance of life will fall onto him.<br /> <br /> And the ship it sinks like lead into the sea<br /> And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins.<br /> <br /> The mariner's bound to tell of his story<br /> To tell this tale wherever he goes<br /> To teach God's word by his own example<br /> That we must love all things that God made.<br /> <br /> And the wedding guest's a sad and wiser man<br /> And the tale goes on and on and on.
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