When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Arcos' green basin to the Redlands outback
I danced for the Goddess all over
At the end of the Wane, the Empire said "Here!
It's time to stop rambling when the Nomads appear!"
So they gave me a bronze hat and they gave me a spear
And they sent me away to the war.
And the band played Dance of the Goddess
We paraded with pikestaff and tent
And amidst all the cheers, the shouts and the tears
We marched over the Redlands to Pent.
How well I remember that terrible fight
When the blood soaked the steppe-lands like water
And how in that Hell that we called Horror's Night
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter:
For the Pentan was ready, he'd primed himself well:
He showered us with spirits, then he rained us with spells
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to Hell:
Nearly blew us right back to Peloria!
And the band played Dance of the Goddess
As we stopped to bury our slain
And we buried ours, and the Nomads burnt theirs
Then it started all over again.
Now those who were living did their best to survive
In that mad world of death, blood and fire
And for seven long nights I kept myself alive
While the corpses around me piled higher
Then a big Pentan spell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, then I wished I was dead,
For I thought there was worse things than dying:
That no more I'd go dance for the Goddess
Through the green bushes so far and near,
For to hang tents on pegs a man needs two legs
No more Dance of the Goddess for me.
So they collected the cripples, the wounded and maimed
And they shipped us back home to Peloria:
The legless, the armless, the blind and insane,
Those proud wounded heroes of Horror.
And as our boat pulled into Glamour City
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And I thought: if there's anyone waiting for me
They'll grieve, and they'll mourn, and they'll pity.
But the band played Dance of the Goddess
As they carried us down the gangway
And the crowds they all cheered, priestesses appeared,
And they carried us wounded away.
And now in Sea Season I stand by the Arch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old Comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving their dreams of past glory.
I stand with the Veterans, our limbs all regrown,
Healed from the anguish of the wounds we had known:
For the Goddess reached down, embraced us as Her own,
And we all adore our Red Mother.
And the band plays Dance of the Goddess
And the soldiers still answer the call
But year after year, Her enemies grow fewer
Some day no-one will march here at all.
Tune: And
the Band played Waltzing Matilda
Words: Nick Brooke
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