One day in the year of the fox
Came a time remembered well
When the strong young man of the rising sun
Heard the tolling of the great black bell

One day in the year of the fox
When the bell began to ring
Meant the time had cometh for one to go
To the temple of the king

There in the middle of the circle he stands
Searching, seeking
With just one touch of his trembling hand
The answer will be found

Daylight waits while the old man sings
Heaven help me
And then like the rush of a thousand wings
It shines upon the one
And the day had just begun

One day in the year of the fox came a time remembered well
When the strong young man of the rising sun
Heard the tolling of the great black bell

One day in the year of the fox
When the bell began to sing
It meant the time had cometh for one to go
To the temple of the king

There in the middle of the people he stands
Seeing, feeling
With just a wave of a strong right hand
He's gone
To the temple of the king

Far from the circle at the edge of the world
He's hoping, wondering
Thinking back from the stories he's heard
Of what he's going to see

There in middle of the circle it lies
Heaven help me
Then all could see by the shine in his eyes
The answer had been found

Back with the people in the circle he stands
Giving, feeling
With just one touch of a strong right hand
They know
Of the temple and the king


Lyrics submitted by han2

The Temple Of The King Lyrics as written by Ronnie James Dio Ritchie Blackmore

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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The Temple Of The King song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    The problem with interpreting Ronnie James' songs is that he seems to start with a metaphorical story, and then puts it into lyrical form, so one has to decipher on two levels.

    The story here is of the young man searching for the "answer", whatever the hell it is. And the answer seems to be in the middle of the circle, where he started of, suggesting the answer was in him all along. The saga concludes with him sharing it with the rest of the people.

    The message of the song seems to be that rather than searching for Kings in the world around us, we should instead turn to the Kingly qualities within ourselves.

    Isenon July 19, 2008   Link

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