Текст песни: The Battle / The Forest + перевод

Soon all land was lost to view. Five days out to sea, they witnessed a

terrifying battle between two sea monsters. One having the snout of a porpoise,

the head of a lizard, and teeth of a crocodile — an Ichthyosaurus.

And the other, the mortal enemy of the first, a serpent with a turtle’s shell

— the Plesiosaurus

Five days out on an infinite sea

They prayed for calm on an ocean free

But the surface of the water was indicating some disturbance

The raft was hurled by an unseen source

Two hundred feet, with frightening force

And a dark mass rising showed to be a giant porpoise

Rising out of the angry sea

Towered the creature’s enemy

And so the two sea monsters closed for battle

Crocodile teeth, lizard’s head

Bloodshot eye stained ocean red

Moving close to their raft’s side

The two men prayed as one and cried:

«Save me, save me, save me, save me!»

The serpent’s fight went on for hours

Two monsters soaring up like towers

And diving down to the depths in a single motion

Suddenly the serpent’s head

Shot out of the water bathed in red

And the serpentine form lay lifeless on the ocean

Crocodile teeth, lizard’s head

Bloodshot eye stained ocean red

Battle won, a victor’s pride

The three men thanked the Lord and cried:

«Praise God, praise God, praise God, praise God!»

Cumulus clouds formed heavily in the south, like huge wool packs heaped up in

picturesque disorder. Under the influence of the breezes, they merged together,

growing darker, forming a single menacing mass. The raft lay motionless on the

sluggish waveless sea and in silence they waited for the storm…

The Forest

For four days the storm had raged as they clung to the mast of their raft for

safety. Finally, with their raft wrecked after being bashed against the reefs,

they lay sheltered from the pouring rain beneath a few overhanging rocks where

they ate and slept

The next day all trace of the storm had disappeared and

What remained of their stock seemed intact. But checking the compass brought

only heartbreak as it showed that a chance of wind during the storm had

returned them to just a few miles north of Port Grauben

So, deciding to try and find the original route they advanced with difficulty

over granite fragments mingled with flint, quartz and alluvial deposits,

eventually reaching a plain covered with bones like a huge cemetery.

A mile further on, they reached the edge of a huge forest made up of

vegetation of the Tertiary period. Tall palms were linked by a network of

inextricable creepers, a carpet of moss covering the ground and the leaves were

colourless, everything having a brownish hue

Exploring the forest they discovered a heard of gigantic animals — masterdons,

which were being marshalled by a primitive human being, a Proteus.

He stood over twelve foot high and brandished an enormous bough,

a crook worthy of this antediluvian shepherd

Journey on through ages gone

To the centre of the earth

Past rocks of quartz and granite

Which gave mother nature birth

Burial ground of ancient man

His life no more is seen

A journey through his time unknown

I wonder where he’s been

Wonder where he’s been

Wonder where he’s been

Wonder where he’s been

Wonder where he’s been

The shore now gone behind the hills

A forest in our sight

Rocks and distant mountains

Bathed in waves of blinding light

Forests from a far gone time

No living man has seen

A private prehistoric world

For you and I a dream

Brownish hue dictates my eye

No colour hides their fear

Flowers faded, dull and cold

Now bleached by atmosphere

Creatures twisting under trees

Huge monsters soaked with rage

Hidden deep below our earth

A frightening, bygone age

Their shepherd came, now long extinct

A huge primeval man

The three men filled with disbelief

Just turned as one and ran

Dumb with astonishment and amazement which bordered on stupefaction,

they fled the forest. Instinctively, they made towards the Lidenbrook Sea.

Discovering a rusty dagger on the beach, and the carved initials of the

explorer before them on a slab of granite, they realised that thay were once

again treading the route of Arne Saknussemm

Following a short sea journey around the cape, they came ashore where a dark

tunnel plunged deep into rock. Venturing down, their progress was halted by a

piece of rock blocking their way. After deciding to blow their way through,

and setting the charge, they put out to sea for safety. With the explosion,

the rocks before them opened like a curtain, and a bottomless pit appeared in

the shore. The explosion had caused an earthquake, the abyss had opened up,

and the sea was pouring into it. Down and down they plunged into the huge

gallery, but on regaining their senses found their raft rising at tremendous

speed

Trapped in the shaft of an active volcano they rose through the ages of man to

be finally expelled out on a mountain-side riddled with tiny lava streams.

Their journey was completed and they found themselves 3000 miles from their

original starting point in Iceland. They had entered by one volcano and they

had come out by another. With the blue mountains of Calabria in the east they

walked away from the mountain that had returned them. The frightening Mount

Etna

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