Steve Hackett Fountain Of Salmacis Lyrics

From a dense forest of tall dark pinewood,
Mount Ida rises like an island.
Within a hidden cave, nymphs had kept a child;
Hermaphroditus, son of gods, so afraid of their love.

As the dawn creeps up the sky
The hunter caught sight of a doe.
In desire for conquest,
He found himself within a glade he'd not beheld before.

Hermaphroditus:
Where are you, my father?
Give wisdom to your son
Narrator:
Now lost, the boy was guided by the sun
Then he could go no farther

And as his strength began to fail
He saw a shimmering lake.
A shadow in the dark green depths
Disturbed the strange tranquility.

Salmacis:
The waters are disturbed
Some creature has been stirred
Narrator:
The waters are disturbed
Naiad queen Salmacis has been stirred

As he rushed to quench his thirst,
A fountain spring appeared before him
And as his heated breath brushed through the cool mist,
A liquid voice called, Son of gods, drink from my
spring .

The water tasted strangely sweet. Behind him the voice called again.
He turned and saw her, in a cloak of mist alone
And as he gazed, her eyes were filled with the darkness
of the lake.

Salmacis:
We shall be one
We shall be joined as one
Narrator:
She wanted them as one
Yet he had no desire to be one

Hermaphroditus:
Away from me cold-blooded woman
Your thirst is not mine
Salmacis:
Nothing will cause us to part
Hear me, O Gods

Unearthly calm descended from the sky
And then their flesh and bones were strangely merged
Forever to be joined as one.

The creature crawled into the lake.
A fading voice was heard:
And I beg, yes I beg that all who touch this spring
May share my fate

Salmacis:
We are the one
We are the one
Narrator:
The two are now made one,
Demi-god and nymph are now made one

Both had given everything they had.
A lover's dream had been fulfilled at last,
Forever still beneath the lake