The Fountain of Salmacis Songtext
von Steve Hackett

From a dense forest of tall dark pinewood
Mount Ida rises like and island
Within a hidden cave, nymphs have 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 ("Then he could go no further)
Give wisdom to your son" (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 ("The waters are disturbed)
Some creature has been stirred" (The naiad queen Salmacis has been stirred")
A he rushed to quench his thirst
A fountain spring appeard 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 strangley 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 ("She wanted them as one)
We shall be joined 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 descended 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 ("The two are now made one)
We are the 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