Journey/recollection Lyrics - Journey To The Centre Of The Earth - Rick Wakeman

THE JOURNEY 

By horse, by rail, by land, by sea, our journey starts 

Two men incensed by one man's journey from the past 

In Iceland, where the mountain stood with pride 

They set off with their guide 

To reach the mountain side 

Roped as one for safety through the long descent 

Into the crater of volcanic rock they went 

Look up from our telescopic lair, 

One star for us to share, 

We continue on our prayer. 

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Crystals of opaque quartz, studded limpid tears, 

Forming magic chandeliers, lighting blistered galleries. 

NARRATION 

Narration 1 

Admiring shades of lava which imperceptibly passed from reddish 

brown to bright yellow, their way lit by crystals appearing as 

lighted globes, they continued through the lava gallery, which 

gently sloped until they reached the inter section of two roads. 

Without hesitation Professor Lidenbrook chose the eastern tunnel. 

And the journey continued through a succession of arches, appearing 

before them as if they were the aisles of a gothic cathedral; the 

walls were enhanced with impressions of Rock weeds and mosses from 

the Silurian epoch. 

Narration 2 

Photos 

The Eastern route they had taken had come to a dead end. With three 

days'walk back to the fork to find Arne Saknussemm's original 

route, they found their water rations were limited to one day. 

Knowing their only chance of finding water was on that route, they 

set off for the fork and there finally they fell almost lifeless on 

the third day. After sleep, they continued down the other tunnel in 

their quest for water, and whilst searching on his own, Hans, the 

guide, heard the sound of water thundering behind a granite wall, 

and, with a pick axe, attacked the wall so as to allow a stream of 

boiling water to enter and cool in their tunnel. Not only had they 

found life in the water but they had also found a flowing guide to 

the Centre of the Earth. They called the stream the Hansbach. 

Narration 3 

Replenished with the water the journey continued with haste, but 

somehow they find themselves separated. Professor Lidenbrook's 

nephew Axel found himself alone. His mind was seized with 

unparalleled fear and he saw memories of home flashing before him. 

His fiancee Grauben, his house and friends in Hamburg. He saw 

hallucinations of all the incidents of the journey. And, unworthy 

as he felt, he knelt in fervent prayer and then, in panic, he ran 

blindly through a tunnel only to reach a dead end, where he fell 

panting for breath. In the darkness he cried... voices... 

voices... voices... He heard voices. He heard his uncle's voice. 

Due to the shape of the gallery and the conducting power of the 

rocks, his uncle's voice was uncannily travelling around the 

walls. By means of their chronometers they discovered they were 

four miles apart, so Axel set about the task of rejoining the 

Professor and their guide. 

RECOLLECTION 

Memories of a life on earth go flashing past, 

Of home, of Grauben, friends of whom he's seen his last 

Contemplating what his life's been worth, 

While trapped beneath the earth, 

An embryo at birth 

Pain and fear destroy the beauty I have seen, 

Of caverns, where no other man has been 

Silurian epoch hosts me as my grave, 

My final blow I wave, 

A life too late to save 

Crystals of opaque quartz, studded limpid tears, 

Forming magic chandeliers, lighting blistered galleries 

NARRATION 

Narration 4 

Suddenly the ground disappeared from beneath his feet. He fell down 

a vertical shaft, his head hitting a sharp rock. Hhe lost 

consciousness. On opening his eyes, he found himself with the 

Professor and the guide, and, looking around him, he saw an ocean 

stretching as faras the eye could see, a giant forest of 

mushrooms, a line of huge cliffs, and strange clouds hung 

overhead, as he lay on a deeply indented shore of golden sand 

strewn with shells. For a moment, he thought he was back on the 

surface of the earth, but soon realised that they had reached a 

world within a world.