He gave to her, yet tenfold claim'd in return
She hath no life but the one he for her wrought;
Proffer'd to her his wauking heart, she turn'd it down,
Riposted with a tell-tale lore of lies and scorn.
Prophetess or fond?,
Tho' her parle of truth:
"I ken to-morrow, refell me if ye can!",
Yet the kiss and breath, Apollo's bane
Sëer of the future, not of twain,
"Sicker!", quoth Cassandra.
Still, is she lief and quaint in his eyne, a sight divine?
A mistress fuell'd by his prest haughtiness
If he did grant, wherefore then did he not foresee,
Belike egal as it to him might be?!
Prophetess or fond?,
Tho' her parle of truth:
"I ken to-morrow, refell me if ye can!",
Yet the kiss and breath, Apollo's bane
Sëer of the future, not of twain,
"Sicker!", quoth Cassandra.
'Or was he an eried being,
'Or was he weening - alack nay mo;
Her naysay' raught his heart,
Her daffing was the grave of all hope
She belied her own words,
He thought her life, save moreo'er scourge,
She held him august, yet wee;
He left her ne'er without his heart.
She hath no life but the one he for her wrought;
Proffer'd to her his wauking heart, she turn'd it down,
Riposted with a tell-tale lore of lies and scorn.
Prophetess or fond?,
Tho' her parle of truth:
"I ken to-morrow, refell me if ye can!",
Yet the kiss and breath, Apollo's bane
Sëer of the future, not of twain,
"Sicker!", quoth Cassandra.
Still, is she lief and quaint in his eyne, a sight divine?
A mistress fuell'd by his prest haughtiness
If he did grant, wherefore then did he not foresee,
Belike egal as it to him might be?!
Prophetess or fond?,
Tho' her parle of truth:
"I ken to-morrow, refell me if ye can!",
Yet the kiss and breath, Apollo's bane
Sëer of the future, not of twain,
"Sicker!", quoth Cassandra.
'Or was he an eried being,
'Or was he weening - alack nay mo;
Her naysay' raught his heart,
Her daffing was the grave of all hope
She belied her own words,
He thought her life, save moreo'er scourge,
She held him august, yet wee;
He left her ne'er without his heart.
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Wrought-shaped
Wauk-from walk, to toss about restlessly
Riposte-to reply or retaliate, to answer
Tell-tale – one who idly or maliciously discloses private or secret matters; a tale-bearer, a tattler
Fond-crazy, dazed, mad
Parle-speech
Ken-to know, to see, to be aware of
Refell-to refute
Bane-that which causes ruin, poison
Twain-two [used often in poetry for sole purpose of rhyme]
Eyne-plural of eye
Aegis-shield or defensive armor, applied in ancient mythology of Jupiter (Zeus)
Prest-ready, active
Egal-equal
Belike-probably, perhaps
Weening-arrogant, self-conceited
Alack-lacking, wanting, missing
Mo’-more
Raught-to reach or snatch at or after
Daffing-insanity
Belie-to falsify
Scourge-to chastise
August-Inspiring mingled reverence and admiration; impressing the emotions or imagination as magnificent; majestic, stately, sublime, solemnly grand; venerable, revered.
save-except, but
quaint-clever
lief-dear, beloved
you're welcome :) and if you haven't noticed it should be "horrid" not "eried" you guys need to listen more attentively...
The song is about Cassandra, a woman the Greek god Apollo fell in love with. He asked her to marry him but she denied. She told him that she would marry him only if he gave her the gift of foresight... Apollo was so in love that he agreed and gave her the gift. But Cassandra didn't keep her promise and denied him once again ("She belied her own words...").
Apollo asked her if he could at least kiss her and when they came close to kiss, Apollo spit in her mouth and cursed her so that even though she had the gift of foresight, noone would believe her words ("Yet the kiss and breath - Apollo's bane -").
Cassandra was the woman who tried to warn the people of Troy about the trojan horse, but of course noone believed her.:)
I hope this helps!
Plus the lyrics are great.
So mournful.
Now I know the meaning.
But certain lines make no sense to me.
Even the ones with words I know.
Eh.. help, someone?