Cygnus X-1 Book Ii: Hemispheres I. Prelude Lyrics - Rush

[I. Prelude] 

When our weary world was young 

The struggle of the ancients first began. 

The gods of Love and Reason 

Sought alone to rule the fate of Man. 

They battled through the ages, 

But still neither force would yield. 

The people were divided, 

Every soul a battlefield. 

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[II. Apollo: Bringer of Wisdom] 

"I bring truth and understanding, 

I bring wit and wisdom fair, 

Precious gifts beyond compare. 

We can build a world of wonder, 

I can make you all aware. 

I will find you food and shelter, 

Show you fire to keep you warm 

Through the endless winter storm. 

You can live in grace and comfort 

In the world that you transform." 

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The people were delighted 

Coming forth to claim their prize 

They ran to build their cities 

And converse among the wise. 

But one day the streets fell silent, 

Yet they knew not what was wrong. 

The urge to build these fine things 

Seemed not to be so strong. 

The wise men were consulted, 

And the Bridge of Death was crossed 

In quest of Dionysus, 

To find out what they had lost. 

[III. Dionysus: Bringer of Love] 

"I bring love to give you solace 

In the darkness of the night, 

In the Heart's eternal light. 

You need only trust your feelings; 

Only love can steer you right. 

I bring laughter, I bring music, 

I bring joy and I bring tears. 

I will soothe your primal fears. 

Throw off those chains of reason 

And your prison disappears." 

The cities were abandoned, 

And the forests echoed song. 

They danced and lived as brothers; 

They knew love could not be wrong. 

Food and wine they had aplenty 

And they slept beneath the stars. 

The people were contented 

And the Gods watched from afar. 

But the winter fell upon them 

And it caught them unprepared, 

Bringing wolves and cold starvation, 

And the hearts of men despaired. 

[IV. Armageddon: The Battle of Heart and Mind] 

The Universe divided 

As the Heart and Mind collided, 

With the people left unguided 

For so many troubled years. 

In a cloud of doubts and fears, 

Their world was torn asunder into hollow Hemispheres. 

Some fought themselves, some fought each other. 

Most just followed one another, 

Lost and aimless like their brothers, 

For their hearts were so unclear, 

And the truth could not appear. 

Their spirits were divided into blinded Hemispheres. 

Some who did not fight 

Brought tales of old to light. 

My Rocinante' sailed by night 

On her final flight. 

To the heart of Cygnus' fearsome force 

We set our course. 

Spiralled through that timeless space 

To this immortal place. 

[V. Cygnus: Bringer of Balance] 

I have memory and awareness, 

But I have no shape or form. 

As a disembodied spirit, 

I am dead and yet unborn. 

I have passed into Olympus 

As was told in tales of old, 

To the city of Immortals, 

Marble white and purest gold. 

I see the gods in battle rage on high 

Thunderbolts across the sky. 

I cannot move, I cannot hide, 

I feel a silent scream begin inside. 

Then all at once the chaos ceased. 

A stillness fell, a sudden peace. 

The warriors felt my silent cry 

And stayed their struggle, mystified. 

Apollo was astonished; 

Dionysus thought me mad. 

But they heard my story further, 

And they wondered, and were sad. 

Looking down from Olympus 

On a world of doubt and fear, 

Its surface splintered 

Into sorry Hemispheres. 

They sat a while in silence, 

Then they turned at last to me. 

"We will call you Cygnus, 

The god of Balance you shall be." 

[VI. The Sphere: A Kind of Dream] 

We can walk our road together 

If our goals are all the same. 

We can run alone and free 

If we pursue a different aim. 

Let the truth of love be lighted, 

Let the love of truth shine clear. 

Sensibility, armed with sense and liberty, 

With the Heart and Mind united in a single perfect Sphere.