The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #12357   Message #97160
Posted By: WyoWoman
19-Jul-99 - 11:12 PM
Thread Name: The Saddest Song of All
Subject: Lyr Add: THE LAST LEVIATHAN (from Rory Block)
Allan -- I'm learning "The Last Leviathan" from a Rory Block CD I have. It is so sad I just feel like MY soul has been torn from me. But I think it's an important song to do, so I'm learning it.

Here are the lyrics:
(It has this beautiful drone in the bass line, which on the CD is done with an organ, I think, but could be done with voices. A friend of mine did this part with his accordian...)

THE LAST LEVIATHAN

My soul has been torn from me
And I am bleeding.
My heart it has been rent,
And I am crying.

All beauty around me fades,
And I am screaming.
I am the last of the great whales.
And I am dying.

Last night I heard the cry
Of my last companion.
The roar of the harpoon gun
And I was alone.

I reflect on the days gone by
When we were thousands.
And I know that I soon shall die.
The last leviathan.

This morning the sun arose
Crimson in the sky.
The ice was the color of blood
And the wind it did sigh.

I rose up to take a breath.
It was my last one.
From the berm came the roar of death.
And now I am done.

Now that we're all gone,
And there's no more hunting.
The big fellow is no more,
And there's no use lamenting.

Which race will be next in line
For the slaughter?
The elephant or the seal?
Or your sons and daughters?

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 6-Oct-02.