Whaling Stories - Procol Harum, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

Pailing well after sixteen days, a mammoth task was set

Sack the town, and rob the tower, and steal the alphabet

Close the door and bar the gate, but keep the windows clean

God’s alive inside a movie!

Watch the silver screen!

Rum was served to all the traitors;

pygmies held themselves in check

Bloodhounds nosed around the houses, down dark alleys sailors crept

Six bells struck, the pot was boiling — soup spilled out on passers-by

Angels mumbled incantations, closely watched by God on high

Lightning struck out — fire and brimstone!

Boiling oil and shrieking steam!

Darkness struck with molten fury, flashbulbs glorified the scene

Not a man who had a finger, not a man who could be seen

Nothing called (not name nor number) — Echo stormed its final scream

Daybreak washed with sands of gladness, rotting all it rotted clean

Windows peeped out on their neighbors, inside fireside bedsides gleam

SHALIMAR, the trumpets chorused, angels wholly all shall take

Those alive will meet the prophets, those at peace shall see their wake