Lyrics

[BEETHOVEN, spoken] I cannot die upon this night [GHOST STORYTELLER, spoken] The composer did protest [BEETHOVEN, spoken] For I must complete my Tenth Symphony Before my final rest [GHOST STORYTELLER, spoken] The devil smiled compassionately Which took all there by surprise But not nearly as much as his answer When he finally did reply [MEPHISTOPHELES, spoken] They say that I have no compassion That my heart it cannot feel But I sympathize with your dilemma So I offer you this deal Take all the time you need To compose this Tenth Symphony you've begun But first, show me what notes you change And then I'll say the deal is done [GHOST STORYTELLER, spoken] Then, Beethoven, he admitted That the symphony was quite finished And that if he changed a solitary note The entire piece would be diminished [MEPHISTOPHELES, spoken] Hmm, I sense your fear [GHOST STORYTELLER, spoken] The Devil said [MEPHISTOPHELES, spoken] Over what must now be done But if you don't like this ending I can offer you another one If you'll give me your music Each note, each rest, each beat Then I will return your soul to you And save it from the heat Now I see your face perplexes That you do not understand That it is my intention to wipe these songs From the mind of man Every symphony and choral Each sonata old and new Will simply disappear this night But your soul returns to you [GHOST STORYTELLER, spoken] And with that, The Great Beethoven stumbled backwards 'Til he fell into his chair And searched his mind for a reply But there were no answers there And the Devil said [MEPHISTOPHELES, spoken] Hmm, I can clearly see your mind is quite confused So I'll return in one hour For the answer that you choose And you can tell me then What you will keep and what you will lose [The hands of the clock rotate backwards from midnight to eleven PM.] [MEPHISTOPHELES, spoken] So tell me now what do you fear? What do you love or hold too dear? Is it death well-wrapped in pain? Or perhaps it's no one will remember your name? If this is so, perhaps I cannot win But then add pride onto your other sins [Mephistopheles laughs] [MEPHISTOPHELES, spoken] I am not trying to pressure you I know you cannot decide yet But nothing focuses the mind, my friend Like the approach of one's own death [GHOST STORYTELLER, spoken] And as he turned to disappear Into his personal abyss Beethoven called for him to wait For something was now amiss The hands upon the clock, it seems Were moving much too fast And at this rate his hour gift Would not an hour last [MEPHISTOPHELES, spoken] Consider it a final act of kindness [GHOST STORYTELLER, spoken] Over his shoulder, the Devil did call [MEPHISTOPHELES, spoken] Because where you are going, my dear Ludwig The clocks they never, move, at all [Mephistopheles disappears back into the abyss through a hole in the floor that opens up to receive him.] [GHOST STORYTELLER, spoken] With Mephistopheles gone The spirits silently crept back And watched the great composer agonize Over the time that he now lacked So in this room now filled with shadows Beethoven stood quite alone And contemplated how to save The one thing he truly ever owned Could all the wisdom he had found Like so many leaves upon the ground Combine with all his dreams and sins And on this night be scattered to the wind? For of our faith, they are so insistent With gods who are so inconsistent And if we are to further delve Into this night and find ourselves Might we discover in our past What in our lives might one day last