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 "Where are you my father Give wisdom to your son" ("Then he could go no further Now lost, The boy was guided by the sun") And as his strength began to fail He saw a shimmering lake A shadow in the dark green depths Disturbed the strange tranquility "The waters are disturbed Some creature has been stirred" ("The waters are disturbed The 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 "We shall be one We shall be joined as one" ("She wanted them as one Yet he had no desire to be one") "Away from me cold-blooded woman Your thirst is not mine" "Nothing will cause us to part Hear me, O Gods" Unearthly calm ascended 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." "We are the one We are the one" ("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