Iron Maiden - Rime Of The Ancient Mariner lyrics

Hear the rime of the ancient mariner<br>See his eye as he stops one of three<br>Mesmerises one of the wedding guests<br>Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea.<br><br>And the music plays on, as the bride passes by<br>Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale.<br><br>Driven south to the land of the snow and ice<br>To a place where nobody's been<br>Through the snow fog flies on the albatross<br>Hailed in god's name, hoping good luck it brings.<br><br>And the ship sails on, back to the north<br>Through the fog and ice and the albatross follows on.<br><br>The mariner kills the bird of good omen<br>His shipmates cry against what he's done<br>But when the fog clears, they justify him<br>And make themselves a part of the crime.<br><br>Sailing on and on and north across the sea<br>Sailing on and on and north 'til all is calm.<br><br>The albatross begins with it's vengeance<br>A terrible curse a thirst has begun<br>His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner<br>About his neck, the dead bird is hung.<br><br>And the curse goes on and on at sea<br>And the curse goes on and on for them and me.<br><br>'day after day, day after day,<br>We stuck nor breath nor motion<br>As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean<br>Water, water everywhere and<br>All the boards did shrink<br>Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.'<br><br>There calls the mariner<br>There comes a ship over the line<br>But how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide.<br><br>See...onward she comes<br>Onward she nears out of the sun<br>See, she has no crew<br>She has no life, wait but here's two.<br><br>Death and she life in death,<br>They throw their dice for the crew<br>She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.<br>Then...crew one by one<br>They drop down dead, two hundred men<br>She...she, life in death.<br>She lets him live, her chosen one.<br><br>'one after one by the star dogged moon,<br>Too quick for groan or sigh<br>Each turned his facce with a ghastly pang<br>And cursed me with his eye<br>Four times fifty living men<br>(and I heard nor sigh nor groan)<br>With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,<br>They dropped down one by one.'<br><br>The curse it lives on in their eyes<br>The mariner wished he'd die<br>Along with the sea creatures<br>But they lived on, so did he.<br><br>And by the light of the moon<br>He prays for their beauty not doom<br>With heart he blesses them<br>God's creatures all of them too.<br><br>Then the spell starts to break<br>The albatross falls from his neck<br>Sinks down like lead into the sea<br>Then down in falls comes the rain.<br><br>Hear the groans of the long dead seamen<br>See them stir and they start to rise<br>Bodies lifted by good spirits<br>None of them speak and they're lifelesss in their eyes<br><br>And revenge is still sought, penance starts again<br>Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.<br><br>Now the curse is finally lifted<br>And the mariner sights his home<br>Spirits go fromhe long dead bodies<br>Form their own light and the mariner's left alone.<br><br>And then a boat came sailing towards him<br>It was a joy he could not believe<br>The pilot's boat, his son and the hermit,<br>Penance of life will fall onto him.<br><br>And the ship sinks like lead into the sea<br>And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins.<br><br>The mariner's bound to tell of his story<br>To tell this tale wherever he goes<br>To teach god's word by his own example<br>That we must love all things thaat God made.<br><br>And the wedding guest's a sad and wiser man<br>And the tale goes on and on and on.