Fountain Of Salmacis

(album: Genesis Revisited - 1996)

From a dense forest of tall dark pinewood
Mount Ida rises like an island
Within a hidden cave, nymphs had 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

[Hermaphroditus / Narrator:]
"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

[Salmacis / Narrator:]
"The waters are disturbed / "The waters are disturbed
Some creature has been stirred" / Naiad queen Salmacis has been stirred"

As he rushed to quench his thirst
A fountain spring appeared 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 strangely 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

[Salmacis / Narrator:]
'We shall be one / 'She wanted them as one
We shall be joined as one' / Yet he had no desire to be one'

[Hermaphroditus:]
"Away from me, cold-blooded woman
Your thirst is not mine"

[Salmacis:]
"Nothing will cause us to part
Hear me, O Gods!"

Unearthly calm ascended 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"

[Salmacis / Narrator:]
"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