The Journey/Recollection

[The Journey]

[Instrumental Intro 00:00-03:10]

[Verse 1]
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 mountains stood with pride
They set off with their guide
To reach the mountain side

[Verse 2]
Roped as one for safety through the long descent
Into the crater of volcanic rock they went
Look up from our telescopic lair
One star for us to share
We continue our prayer

[Instrumental Break 04:27-05:24]
[Keyboard Solo]

[Refrain]
Crystals of opaque quartz, studded limpid tears
Forming magic chandeliers
Lighting blistered galleries

[Instrumental Break 05:49-06:14]
[Keyboard Solo]

[Narration 1]
Admiring shades of lava, which imperceptively 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 intersection 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 rockweeds and mosses from the Silurian epoch

[Instrumental Break 06:47-08:00]

[Narration 2]
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 chance 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

[Instrumental Break 08:52-11:49]
[Keyboard Solo]

[Recollection]

[Narration 3]
Replenished with the water, the journey continued with haste but somehow they found 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 fiancèe 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 traveling 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

[Instrumental Break 12:49-16:12]
[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 3]
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

[Verse 4]
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 bow I wave
A life too late to save

[Refrain]
Crystals of opaque quartz, studded limpid tears
Forming magic chandeliers
Lighting blistered galleries

[Instrumental Break 17:53-18:17]
[Keyboard Solo]

[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 their guide
And looking around him he saw an ocean stretching as far as 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 realized that they had reached a world within a world

[Instrumental Outro]