Ariel

[Part One: Come Unto These Yellow Sands] [The Cremation of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) - the 16th of August 1822 on a beach near Viareggio] Crow black the mourners stand They watch the burning pyre Singing O, blow the winds O Silhouettes against the sand The smoke, it billows higher Singing O, blow the winds O Grieve for the poet drowned at sea O, such deep sweet sorrow They'd left their port of call When sudden storm clouds gathered Singing O, blow the winds O A wild tempestuous squall They foundered in ten fathoms Singing O, blow the winds O Profound poetic verse Shall live on tomorrow [Part Two: Noises, Sounds and Sweet Airs] [On an un-named Mediterranean island in renaissance Europe] Upon The Island, imprisoned for twelve years The Master came. He released you from the pine You did serve Prospero's bidding From old bound books, he'd recite the words aloud Unto the air, sweet music to the ear Spells were cast, among the living All chores fulfilled, you earned your freedom But bonds and ties bind with good reason Though you were free, still would you visit There by his side, the day the old man died [Part Three: New Place] [Stratford-Upon-Avon, 1610] 'Twas your desire, your story written down Bound in a book, to hold the magic of the words A playwright found, whose verse is eternal Your tale was told, by way of dreamings Placed in his thoughts whilst he was sleeping Inspired, the bard awoke next morning Then quill in hand, he drafted out a plan [Part Four: 'O! There are spirits of the air!'] [At sea, during a raging storm, Ariel revels within his environment] Come Cirrus Come Stratus Eternal sprawling of days Come Nimbus You storm bringer Howling winds Lashing rain For one brief yet brilliant moment They burn brightly and they shine Immortality's a song that sounds for Too long, too long, too long Come Cirrus (Come on) Come Stratus (Come on) Eternal sprawling of days Come Nimbus (Come on) Soul shaker (Come on) Thunder crash Rolling waves For one brief yet brilliant moment They burn brightly and they shine Immortality's a song that sounds for Too long, too long, too long [Part Five: Music, When Soft Voices Die] [A pine forest near Pisa, 1822] Time slows Centuries have passed where you did reside Again among the pines What do you hear? Sweet music through the air Tickling your ear and calling you by name Summoned, you go A poet thou dost spy Pages strewn about the ground Spellbound, you stand revealed He sees thee! Till you disappear [Part Six: Casa Magni, 1822] [San Terenzo, near Lerici, in the province of La Spezia in Liguria, 1822] Time hides. How many days gone by Since the sight he saw, that will not leave his mind? Was it real or a dream? His burning desire was to see you one more time To know that you are real Not some haunted opium dream Once more before he dies [Part Seven: "Approach, My Ariel, Come"] [8th of July 1822, Gulf of La Spezia] [Aboard the Don Juan on the return voyage from Livorno to Lerici, late afternoon. The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and his two companions, Edward Williams and Charles Vivian, were drowned during a sudden violent summer tempest. The boat was called 'Don Juan' in honour of Lord Byron, but, according to Mary Shelley, Shelley had renamed the boat 'Ariel.'] All at sea he invokes thee Awaking thee from deepest slumber Incantations ringing like silver It's too swift, too soon Invocation's lightning sabres Wind sound thy pipe Thunder thy tabor Singing O, blow the winds O [Part Eight: Coda: The Triumph of Life] [The Cremation of Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) - the 16th of August 1822 on a beach near Viareggio. The poet Lord Byron (1788-1824) watches the smoke rising from the burning pyre. It seems to him as though there is an ephemeral figure rising through the smoke into the air. The grief and loss over the last few days have clearly taken their toll. As the flames take further hold, unable to contain his sorrow any longer, he goes down the beach towards the water, removes his clothing and swims out to sea.] Singing O, blow the winds O Singing O, to the four winds Thou goes