Hercules Songtext

von Rick Wakeman

When Hercules was born
Juno sent the serpents
To destroy him in his cradle
But they were not able
Dangerous tasks were set before him
Labors of Hercules, set to destroy him
First he had to bring the skin
Of the lion that had overcome all hunters
Hercules killed him as he had the serpents
Squeezing out life with his hands
Next came the slaughter of the monster, Hydra
With nine heads appearing like fangs
As each head was destroyed then another one grew
An immortal head in the middle lived through
Finally he burnt the Hydra
And then the immortal head he buried beneath a rock
The stalls of three thousand oxen
Filled with dirt of thirty years
Hercules his task to clean them
Made the use of rivers' tears
Diverting all of the rivers from their heads
To places so far unseen
Clear rushing water swept all before them
And by sun-rest all was clean
Then befell him a task so fragile
Fetch the waist-band for Admeta
From the Queen of Amazons
Juno was enraged because the Queen agreed
To give Hercules the waist-band without force
So Juno took the form of na Amazon
Telling of the capture of their Queen
Vengeful women came in great numbers
Hoping to set her free
Hercules left thinking he had been betrayed
Killed the Queen, killed the Queen
Juno had succeeded, the Queen's life was lost
The Queen, the Queen
Then to bring the oxen of the Geryon
Dwelling on the island 'neath the rays
Of the setting sun
Guarded by a monster with three heads
To get there he'd to cross a host of countries
Raising mountains, monuments of time
To reach the monster first he killed a two-headed dog
This accomplished saved the oxen
Turning blood to wine
A most difficult task
Was to seek the Golden Apples of the Hesperides
As it was not known where they could be found
Juno had received them at her wedding
From the Goddess of the Earth
Hercules went off to Atlas
Who bore the weight of heavens with his frame
Hercules took over from him
Atlas sought his daughter's time
Help him with the apples to claim
Treasure retrieved, mission achieved
Hercules gave thanks to his host
Feeling the pain, taking the strain
Atlas returned to his post
On his travels he wrestled
And killed the son of Terra
Then he fought with the giant, Cacus
Who had stolen part of the oxen of Geryon
To the lower world he went
To bring Cerberus was sent
Who guarded gates of Hades
A watchdog with three heads
To carry him to upper air
Permission must be read
Granted with proviso
"There must be no blood shed"
Mercury and Minerva
Journeyed with him to the realms of darkness
Where they fulfilled their task
Adventures were taking their toll
His strenght had been pushed to the limit
He killed his friend
Wich broke his spirit
To the very end
He married Dejanira
They journeyed far and wide
At a river the giant centaur
Transported to the other side
"I will carry Dejanira"
The centaur cried
But he tried to steal her
And the wrath of Hercules was tried
To its full degree
And arrow pierced the centaur's heart
He offered her a potion from his blood
Wich gave her magic power over love
To use against Hercules
Hercules had taken prisoner
A woman of great beauty
Incurring vengeance from his wife
Washing white robe in the potion
Sent the clothing to her husband
Unaware that it would take a life
When he wore it great pain occured
As poison entered pores
The messenger who brought the robe was slain
In a rage, a hero's body destroyed
Dejanira distraught by what she'd done
Gave her life away
Crime of passion, a paradise now lost
Vision turned to dismay
Hercules knew he was dying
He ascended Mount Oeta
Where he built a funeral pyre
A lion's skin spread over him
He laid upon the fire
His deeds of strenght lay far behind
His body worn and tired
His life now consumed by the flames
He rose with dignity
Encaptured by a shroud
A resting place before him
Enveloped in a cloud
Taken by chariot into the stars
To peace at last
His burden free
He lives, he lives, he lives
He dwells amongst the Gods a hero
Hercules, Hercules, Hercules
Use his strength
Left in all our hands.