Date:  11-22-88  23:33
From:  Sourdough Jackson
To:    All
Subj:  In Memoriam:  Phil Ochs

     SONG BEFORE ACTION

     tune:  No More Songs, by Phil Ochs

Arise!  Arise!  Arise!
The Sun's gone from the skies;
The Watchman his horn is blowing.
We sally forth today
To fight a futile fray,
And it seems that I have no more songs.

The Hound devours the Moon,
The end comes all too soon,
The Worm of Despair is stirring,
The Wolf has burst his chain,
Black Chaos will remain,
And it seems that I have no more songs.

With hammer, sword, and spear,
We go, despite our fear.
My eight-legged steed I'm mounting.
Across the Bow of Rain
We ride to Vigrid's plain,
And it seems that I have no more songs.

A poet comes to me
From hanging on a tree.
He asks, "Why this somber riding?"
I tell him what I've found
In runes cast on the ground,
And it seems that I have no more songs.

He says, "The futures known
Aren't graven into stone.
'Tis custom to talk ere fighting.
Stall Surtur, with his blaze,
And Loki for three days,
And I think for you will be more songs."

We enter Vigrid Plain.
By ancient law, explain
We wish to have truce for talking.
We stall three days by right.
Tomorrow we must fight,
And it seems that I have no more songs.

But Garm pukes up the Moon,
The Worm and Fenris swoon,
The Sun with the Spring is rising.
To Baldur goes my crown,
I'll quit and settle down,
And I'll spend my days in making songs.

          --Copyright (c) 1986 by Sourdough Jackson
 

--- Gnome v1.20
 * Origin: The Lizard King-"I am the Lizard King; I can do
anything."(1:104/45.5)