An Elegy for One Roderick Usher, or ‘The Haunted Palace’

Lyrics

[Intro] A round of applause for our good pal Frankenstein Oh, settle down, settle down, I know, Frankenstein's the scientist Oh, me? No, no, no, no, don't be absurd I've no tales to tell nor songs to sing Well, not of my own So how about I regale you with a story of a dear friend of mine? My name remains unimportant But this is An Elegy for One Roderick Usher, or 'The Haunted Palace' [Verse 1] I staggered, as it were, 'pon yon shambled, pallid house Not in gait, but in the soul So desolate can an image of once proud distinction bе When interned bеneath time's sacramentary toll [Verse 2] Insufferable, the sight of such a miserable wretch as he A friend at once alive and stone-cold dead A musician of the string, he compelled his guitar to sing And at last, and for the first, I heard such frightful, dreadful, doleful, dismal Intensely conscious dread He said: [Verse 3] "In the greenest of our valleys By good angels tenanted Once a fair and stately palace Radiant palace reared its head In the monarch Thought's dominion It stood there Never seraph spread a pinion Over fabric half so fair" [Verse 4] Madeline, oh, poor Madeline, such an anguished visage worn A depression deeply soaked and yet so fresh Ever will the memory of the pair of kin forlorn Stake its claim upon my being, on my flesh [Verse 5] My pal and I, we mused, we dined We spoke and laughed, or at least we tried But we all know now, time's never been our friend Merely days passed us by, Madeline passed, Roderick cried Thinking back, it must be then the name of 'Usher' met its end [Verse 6] "Banners yellow, glorious, golden On its roof did float and flow (This, all this, was in the olden Time long ago) And every gentle air that dallied In that sweet day Along the ramparts plumed and pallid A winged odor went away [Verse 7] Wanderers in that happy valley Through two luminous windows saw Spirits moving musically To a lute's well tunéd law Round about a throne, where sitting (Porphyrogene) In state his glory well befitting The ruler of the realm was seen" [Verse 8] Encoffined, lain entombed 'neath the mansion she once knew Lady Madeline seemed naught but full of life Such, I've heard is the irony of the cataleptic's rue: A corpse that conceals the living's strife [Verse 9] But I admit, from that night forward, comfort seldom graced my heart Till one dark night had wrung my senses warped and wry In my folly, I'd thought a story could act to soothe my hysteric friend and I Even then, I knew it futile, but I'd be damned if I could not at least try [Verse 10] "And all with pearl and ruby glowing Was the fair palace door Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing And sparkling evermore A troop of Echoes, whose sweet duty Was but to sing In voices of surpassing beauty The wit and wisdom of their king" [Verse 11] And Ethelred, drunkened, full of might Sought the hermit and sought to find a fight And so he wrenched and ripped through the wooden screen with strength befit him But the champion stood enraged, amazed To find flaring scales and tongue ablaze And a shield of shining brass, legend enwritten: [Verse 12] "Who entereth herein, a conqueror hath bin; Who slayeth the dragon, the shield he shall win;" And as the legend was fulfilled Ethelred's ears were at once filled With shriek so horrid and harsh; such piercing din [Verse 13] Bolstered by success, Ethelred gloried in excess Kicked the carcass out path to his new boon But tarry not did it And instead, silver floor it hit And let a mighty, ringing screech pervade the room [Verse 14] Now, skeptical am I of things called 'paranormal' Or at least, back then, that was the case But as the sounds described on page became choral I saw hysteria painted on his face [Verse 15] Looking past my eye, not far beyond me Just as he screamed, she sought her brother And not seconds later, they lie, two lifeless bodies Each dead and decayed as the other [Verse 16] I fled, afraid and aghast And watched a crack begin to tear None but I can say in truth they bore witness To the fall of the House of Usher [Verse 17] "But evil things, in robes of sorrow Assailed the monarch's high estate (Ah, let us mourn, for never morrow Shall dawn upon him, desolate!) And, round about his home, the glory That blushed and bloomed Is but a dim-remembered story Of the old time entombed [Verse 18] And travellers now within that valley Through the red-litten windows, see Vast forms that move fantastically To a discordant melody While, like a rapid ghastly river Through the pale door A hideous throng rush out forever And laugh, but smile no more"