This song, like many of Procol Harum's best, is about the existential feelings of an individual who has had a spiritual "peak experience" of the kind often described by seekers, where it was as if he came face to face with Truth and the Divine.
Once I stood upon Olympus, then the heavens opened wide
I beheld that flaming chariot and I saw the sacred bride
Now, the experience is past him and he has lost his way and can't get back to it. He feels like he is growing old with sorrow and growing fat with sin. Life seems hollow and empty to him now, because he once saw the face of perfection and now he has lost it. Everything seems empty, and he blames himself most of all.
Now and then, he gets a glimpse through the veil of that world he once saw, and his life seems truer and his thoughts seem pure. But mostly there is isn't much left for him, and he is left to wonder if death is really the answer for him, and he will be able to know and see the truth again once he is on the Other Side.
This song, like many of Procol Harum's best, is about the existential feelings of an individual who has had a spiritual "peak experience" of the kind often described by seekers, where it was as if he came face to face with Truth and the Divine.
Once I stood upon Olympus, then the heavens opened wide I beheld that flaming chariot and I saw the sacred bride
Now, the experience is past him and he has lost his way and can't get back to it. He feels like he is growing old with sorrow and growing fat with sin. Life seems hollow and empty to him now, because he once saw the face of perfection and now he has lost it. Everything seems empty, and he blames himself most of all.
Now and then, he gets a glimpse through the veil of that world he once saw, and his life seems truer and his thoughts seem pure. But mostly there is isn't much left for him, and he is left to wonder if death is really the answer for him, and he will be able to know and see the truth again once he is on the Other Side.