Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Songtext
von Phish

Five, two, three, four

Colonel Forbin stared up at the mountain
And wiped away the beads of sweat that glistened on his brow
And he found the door at the foot of the mountain
And his bloodshot eyes saw all that lay between him
And fulfillment of his vow
And he felt his fingers wrap around a knotted root
And pull his body upwards to a sea-green mossy boulder
And he dragged his weary shit-ass up the mountain
And he climbed so slowly
He climbed so slowly ahead
Ahead


And suddenly he heard the crack of thunder
And the rocks began to crumble overhead
And tumble down the mountain to the dismal swamp
That lay beneath the jagged cliffs to which his path had led
And the earth began to quake beneath his feet
And the mighty mountain changed before his eyes
And he stood amidst a sea of dust and rocks and stones
Cascading down the mountain
And a thousand birds were heading for the sky

Oh, the sacred creed will be yours
If you wait until tomorrow
The sacred creed will be yours to devour
Yours to seize and to obey
Obey

When the dust had cleared, the colonel lifted up his head
The colonel lifted up his head, and he lowered his knees
By a blazing beam of light
And he saw the silhouette that stood before him
And he bowed in reverence, trembling in the shadow
Of the mighty legend′s form
Icchulus the Prophet stood before his eyes
Looking down on Colonel Forbin
And he shuddered in the puddles and the muck
And he quietly addressed him
And he spoke so slowly
He spoke so slowly, he said
He said


"Colonel Forbin, I know why you've come here
I′ll help you in your quest to gain the knowledge that you lack
I'll call upon my faithful friend the mockingbird
To fly and seize the helping book and bring it to your shack
And the tree of knowledge in your soul will grow
And the helping friendly book will plant the seed
But I warn you that all knowledge, seeming innocent and pure
Becomes a deadly weapon in the hands of avarice and greed"

The sacred creed will be yours
And if you wait until tomorrow
The sacred creed will be yours to devour
Yours to seize and to obey
Obey