Across the Eerie waters,
Misty covered glass I spied
A sad procession, snaking down
The dry and deathly trail.
And as my telescopic eye
Focused on the marching line,
It settled on the fallen crown,
Now covered with a veil.
The heavy weight of mourning
Drew each head to face the ground.
Muscles tight on bearers' arms
Each body cold and frail.
And through the muslin mist
The beating drums, the only sound..
Twenty boats out in the bay
All ready to set sail.
Ashes.. take me back to earth..
Water.. quench my human thirst..
Ashes.. take me back to earth..
Water.. quench my human thirst..
My bones soaked in the icy cold
And fixed me where I lay,
Until each vessel left the shore
And made a line for me.
There never was a breeze,
The leaves were silent all that day.
They say the sails were ghosts
That stole the wind to set them free.
I layed transfixed,
Felt nothing, but the beating of my fear
As flames rose up and swallowed whole
Greatest of the fleet
The others circled round
And I heard chanting fill the air,
The ashes, lifted high
Were falling back into the sea.
Ashes.. take me back to earth..
Water.. quench my human thirst..
Ashes.. take me back to earth..
Water.. quench my human thirst...
Misty covered glass I spied
A sad procession, snaking down
The dry and deathly trail.
And as my telescopic eye
Focused on the marching line,
It settled on the fallen crown,
Now covered with a veil.
Drew each head to face the ground.
Muscles tight on bearers' arms
Each body cold and frail.
And through the muslin mist
The beating drums, the only sound..
Twenty boats out in the bay
All ready to set sail.
Water.. quench my human thirst..
Ashes.. take me back to earth..
Water.. quench my human thirst..
And fixed me where I lay,
Until each vessel left the shore
And made a line for me.
There never was a breeze,
The leaves were silent all that day.
They say the sails were ghosts
That stole the wind to set them free.
Felt nothing, but the beating of my fear
As flames rose up and swallowed whole
Greatest of the fleet
The others circled round
And I heard chanting fill the air,
The ashes, lifted high
Were falling back into the sea.
Water.. quench my human thirst..
Ashes.. take me back to earth..
Water.. quench my human thirst...
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Kinda seems like a spirit, watching their own funeral pyre from afar.
I'm quite certain the theme of this song takes place around many 'viking funerals' happening at one time. After a large battle that resulted in 'the fallen crown'. The procedure being that after the body was viewed and given respects they would carry the body to a boat, filling it with gifts, and then light it on fire as it went out to sea.
Seddyere had it right, that it's from the viewpoint of a spirit watching the event unfold.
Very beautiful song.
I always thought that it sounded like King Arthur's funeral as told be the Lady of the Lake.
IMHO, I don't think a spirit watching his own funeral would need a telescope or spyglass to see their own funeral. Nor would a spirit have need of water to quench their thirst after death. Lastly, somebody who's dead wouldn't feel the cold in their bones.
However, it almost certainly does describe the burial at sea of a king (fallen crown) and subsequent burning of the ship. The person who's watching it is scared of death and/or in fear of their own mortality.
BTW, it can't be Vikings since the Vikings didn't have telescopes -- that was invented by Galileo about 400 years after the Vikings, IIRC.
@janeaparis1 I know this is an old comment, but I'm just stumbling across it.
@janeaparis1 I know this is an old comment, but I'm just stumbling across it.
Okay. So, there is no mention in this song of a "telescope". It mentions the spirit's telescopic eye, meaning the spirit's vision is now unfettered by physical conventions & "zooms in" on the action, flying overhead and watching the funeral procession.
Okay. So, there is no mention in this song of a "telescope". It mentions the spirit's telescopic eye, meaning the spirit's vision is now unfettered by physical conventions & "zooms in" on the action, flying overhead and watching the funeral procession.
The lyrics very clearly say, "Ashes, bring me back to earth; water, quench my human thirst". In a way, the song describes the spirit reentering its body, maybe to symbolize rebirth. Your interpretation is way too literal. It's most...
The lyrics very clearly say, "Ashes, bring me back to earth; water, quench my human thirst". In a way, the song describes the spirit reentering its body, maybe to symbolize rebirth. Your interpretation is way too literal. It's most definitely the spirit of the dead king, not a spectator.
And again, "telescopic" is an adjective describing the narrator's visual acuity, not a noun indicating an actual object in the song.
It's from the perspective of a satellite watching people try to leave a dead earth. One of the departing space-ships explodes on it's trip up/away.
@florentin1 you must have been very high or not paying attention at all
@florentin1 you must have been very high or not paying attention at all
over the years I've found myself from time to time coming back and giving thought to this song. in my opinion it's the description of the funeral procession of a king/monarch figure, (fallen crown now covered with a veil) seen from the perspective of a distant observer (as my telescopic eye focused on the marching line). the atmosphere is proper heavy (muslin mist/icy cold), and the observer, although safe, is affected himself and can almost feel an impeding tragedy(the beating of my fear). when the boats (formed a line) and the funeral pyre is lit (flame rose up and swallowed whole the greatest of the fleet), thus the great king took his followers with him in the afterlife as (ashes lifted high are falling back into the sea), returning everything to nature, as in ashes to ashes and dust to dust. the chorus speaks the kings desire to find peace and silence in death (ashes take me back to earth, water(the sea?) quench my human thirst). all in all this song is a hidden masterpiece of poetry, and the lyrics are so visually strong one cannot help to see the movie of the funeral and its tragic closure.