Journey To The Centre Of The Earth Lyrics - The Stage Collection - Rick Wakeman

THE JOURNEY / RECOLLECTION 

The Journey 

By horse, by rail, by land, by sea, our journey starts 

Two men incensed by one man's journey from the past 

In Iceland, where the mountain stood with pride 

They set off with their guide 

To reach the mountain side 

Roped as one for safety through the long descent 

Into the crater of volcanic rock they went 

Look up from our telescopic lens, 

One star for us to share, 

We continue on our prayer. 

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Crystals of opaque quartz, studded limpid tears, 

Forming magic chandeliers, lighting blistered galleries. 

Narration 1 

Admiring shades of lava which imperceptibly passed from reddish 

brown to bright yellow, their way lit by crystals appearing as 

lighted globes, they continued through the lava gallery, which 

gently sloped until they reached the inter section of two roads. 

Without hesitation Professor Lidenbrook chose the eastern tunnel. 

And the journey continued through a succession of arches, appearing 

before them as if they were the aisles of a gothic cathedral; the 

walls were enhanced with impressions of Rock weeds and mosses from 

the Silurian epoch. 

Narration 2 

Photos 

The Eastern route they had taken had come to a dead end. With three 

days'walk back to the fork to find Arne Saknussemm's original 

route, they found their water rations were limited to one day. 

Knowing their only change of finding water was on that route, they 

set off for the fork and there finally they fell almost lifeless on 

the third day. After sleep, they continued down the other tunnel in 

their quest for water, and whilst searching on his own, Hans, the 

guide, heard the sound of water thundering behind a granite wall, 

and, with a pick axe, attacked the wall so as to allow a stream of 

boiling water to enter and cool in their tunnel. Not only had they 

found life in the water but they had also found a flowing guide to 

the Centre of the Earth. They called the stream the Hansbach. 

Narration 3 

Replenished with the water the journey continued with haste, but 

somehow they find themselves separated. Professor Lidenbrook's 

nephew Axel found himself alone. His mind was seized with 

unparalleled fear and he saw memories of home flashing before him. 

His fiancee Grauben, his house and friends in Hamburg. He saw 

hallucinations of all the incidents of the journey. And, unworthy 

as he felt, he knelt in fervent prayer and then, in panic, he ran 

blindly through a tunnel only to reach a dead end, where he fell 

panting for breath. In the darkness he cried... voices... 

voices... voices... He heard voices. He heard his uncle's voice. 

Due to the shape of the gallery and the conducting power of the 

rocks, his uncle's voice was uncannily travelling around the 

walls. By means of their chronometers they discovered they were 

four miles apart, so Axel set about the task of rejoining the 

Professor and their guide. 

Recollection 

Memories of a life on earth go flashing past, 

Of home of Grauben, friends of whom he's seen his last 

Contemplating what his life's been worth, 

While trapped beneath the earth, 

An embryo at birth 

Pain and fear destroy the beauty I have seen, 

Of caverns, where no other man has ever been 

Silurian epoch hosts me as my grave, 

My final blow I wave, 

A life too late to save 

Crystals of opaque quartz, studded limpid tears, 

Forming magic chandeliers, lighting blistered galleries. 

Narration 4 

Suddenly the ground disappeared from beneath his feet. He fell down 

a vertical shaft, his head hitting a sharp rock. He lost 

consciousness. On opening his eyes, he found himself with the 

Professor and the guide, and, looking around him, he saw an ocean 

stretching as faras the eye could see, a giant forest of 

mushrooms, a line of huge cliffs, and strange clouds hung 

overhead, as he lay on a deeply indented shore of golden sand 

strewn with shells. For a moment, he thought he was back on the 

surface of the earth, but he soon realised that they had reached a 

world within a world. 

THE BATTLE / THE FOREST 

Narration 5 

Having made a raft from wood taken from the giant mushroom forest, 

with rigging consisting of a mast made of two staves lashed 

together, a yard made of a third, and a sail borrowed from their 

stock of rugs, they set sail from the harbour - Port Grauben, 

named after Axel's fiancee. With a north-westerly wind propelling 

them along at about three miles an hour, silvery beams of light, 

reflected here and there by drops of spray, produced luminous 

points in the eddy created by the raft. 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. 

The Battle 

Five days out on an infinite sea, they prayed for calm on an ocean free, 

But the surface of the water ws 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 creatures' 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 serpents' fight went on for hours, two monsters soaring up like towers 

And driving 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 read 

Battle won, a victor's pride, the three men thanked the Lord and cried 

"Praise God, praise God, praise God, praise God." 

Narration 6 

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. 

Narration 7 

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. 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, 

Mastadons, 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. 

The Forest 

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 

The shore now gone behind the hills, a forest in our sight, 

Rocks and distant mountains, bathed in waves of blinding light 

Forests from far gone time, no living man has seen, 

A private prehistoric world, for you and I a dream 

Brownish hue dicates 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. 

Narration 8 

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 

a 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.