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Death and the Maiden

from The Elegiac Repose by Valentine Wolfe

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lyrics

Death and the Maiden

This story begins with your funeral
Wreaths and mourning ribbons
Bedeck the coal black horses
The cortege rides in silence

Until the gray fog descended
Not a sound was heard
Nor did a whisper shatter
The stillness of your shroud

And then the strains were felt loud
A mournful plaintive chant
Choirs like ravens fighting
Scratching upon mine ear

A maiden wept at your funeral
A maiden beheld by Death
Her tears of grief sweet perfection
Death marked her for his own

Years burned away as pages thrown to flame
Each bitter season bringing fresh defeat
The maiden diminished every hour
Death marked her for his own

Alone and scribbling at his desk
Asylum walls have locked him in
In his dreamworld he is free
He bends his mind back to the page

The sacred page

Wilt thou go with me, sweet maid,
Say, maiden, wilt thou go with me
Through the valley-depths of shade,
Of night and dark obscurity;
Where the path has lost its way,
Where the sun forgets the day,
Where there's nor life nor light to see,
Sweet maiden, wilt thou go with me!

Maiden wilt thou go…?

Where stones will turn to flooding streams,
Where plains will rise like ocean waves,
Where life will fade like visioned dreams
And mountains darken into caves,
Say, maiden, wilt thou go with me
Through this sad non-identity,
Where parents live and are forgot,
And sisters live and know us not!

Maiden wilt thou go…?

Say, maiden; wilt thou go with me
In this strange death of life to be,
To live in death and be the same,
Without this life or home or name,
At once to be and not to be -
That was and is not -yet to see
Things pass like shadows, and the sky
Above, below, around us lie?

Entreaties have stopped up his tongue
A tremor at the sight of her
One last glimpse, his final wish
Alone at last now he can die

White becomes her
Pale laces flutter
Vestments chosen to endure
Craven kisses
Torn from her red lips
Hotter than a thousand stars

Death will come for you, maiden
Faster than a raven’s wing
Sadder than a lover’s lie
And when it comes, it will last forever

Gather your rosebuds
Hide from the light
There is not safety within these shadows
Ave Maria

So she prayed the maiden’s prayer
But no answer did she receive
No surcease for her sufferings
As the nights grew colder

The stars shone ever dimmer
Her prayers grew choked on her lips
They turned to roses in her mouth
She learned to savor the taste

So bitter yet beautiful
Black night opening to her
She reveled in the mystery
She could taste the velvet promise

The maiden grew more lovely
Eyes wide open to the dark
Now trusting in the knowledge
The shadows draped around her

Say, maiden; wilt thou go with me
In this strange death of life to be,
To live in death and be the same,
Without this life or home or name,
At once to be and not to be -
That was and is not -yet to see
Things pass like shadows, and the sky
Above, below, around us lie?

Maiden wilt thou go….?

The maiden and Death intertwined at last
Forever to lie as one
Breathing in the other life
Within your silken coffin

Years burn away as pages turn to flame
Stories changing before they can be told
Will you who have ears listen to my tale?
Will you unlock these mysteries?

This story ends with your funeral
Wreaths and mourning ribbons
Bedeck the coal black horses
The cortege departs in silence

credits

from The Elegiac Repose, released August 26, 2017

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Valentine Wolfe image

Valentine Wolfe Greenville, South Carolina

Two morbidly fascinated musicians combining ambient solo bass, brutal distortion, electronica, and 18th century opera to tell a story of the macabre.

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