The Hallucinator
Alasdair Roberts
The Hallucinator lives upon the island,
All alone, all alone
Because if she didn't live there no-one else would
All alone
She knows that she's the one to go before us
Making each and every border porous
With an eider quill retrace our annals
Ungating all the snares, hard-panning channels
All alone, all alone
The vacuum drags here down to the ocean
To the bottom of the sea
But still she lands so softly she is laughing
Laughing at the bottom of the sea
By there sailed a silver ship of time
Ship of time, ship of time
With cannons fanning out at every angle
Port and starboard, fore and aft
An old and gilded clock was seen to dangle
From the topmost lofty mast
The Hallucinator, she just looked and laughed
The King of Time, he's pulled her from the ocean
Stood here there to drip and dry
And he's led her by the hand back to her island
Still alone as you or I
He said 'I've sailed the seven seas to find you
Seven seas and twenty-three
I've sailed a sickening sea of golden coins
To be near you, to be free
I can only tell you what I know:
The dagger of the west will never linger long
In the scabbard of the east
That gazelle will bolt and run like hell
From any entombed Eden
I've been to the north and I've been to the south
I've sailed the world around
I know the poles are doomed to shift
I know that one day soon they'll flip
And when they do I'll reboard ship
And go back the way I came
And if you've time you'll mould a child of wax
Maybe chisel a child of stone
So you'll never be alone
And I'll give you my silver cloak of time
Woven of the hours fine
And if you've sense you'll hang it in a high place
Touch the hem from time to time
Time to time
Time to time
Share
More from Alasdair Roberts
On The Banks Of Red Roses
Alasdair Roberts
Molly Bawn
Alasdair Roberts
I Am a Young Man
Alasdair Roberts
I Went Hunting
Alasdair Roberts
I Fell In Love
Alasdair Roberts
Firewater
Alasdair Roberts
I Had a Kiss of the King's Hand
Alasdair Roberts
Waxwing
Alasdair Roberts
Down Where The Willow Wands Weep
Alasdair Roberts
When A Man's In Love He Feels No Cold
Alasdair Roberts
Carousing
Alasdair Roberts
The Cruel War
Alasdair Roberts
Let Me Lie and Bleed Awhile
Alasdair Roberts
Sweet William
Alasdair Roberts
The Whole House Is Singing
Alasdair Roberts
Slowly Growing Old
Alasdair Roberts
Farewell Sorrow
Alasdair Roberts
Join Our Lusty Chorus
Alasdair Roberts
You Muses Assist
Alasdair Roberts
Unyoked Oxen Turn
Alasdair Roberts