Chorale (feat. London Philharmonic Orchestra)

The gods blessed and so they cursed
For better or for worse
Sired children with their human slaves
They demand blind loyalty
From beggars to royalty
From the cradle to the grave

An age of wisdom, madness and glory
An age of war and brooding peace
One chapter from an ageless story
Known as Ancient Greece

Achilles of Thessaly
Cursed with flawed immortality
Agamemnon of Mycenae
In turn with ambition
Ulysses of Ithaca
Longs for peace and security
Long be his road to achieve them
Menelaus of Sparta
Is granted the hand of Helen, to share his throne
He worships her beauty and thereby is damned
For the gods have fashioned her image on one of their own

They'd give with one hand, take with the other
Mystic schemes, for mortals to discover
Hidden signs both human and divine
Half-truths, believable lies
A glimpse of glory to covetous eyes
Fashioned scenes where their end justifies their means
An age of wisdom, madness and glory
A time for torment, sorrow or joy
Tne gods watch as their play unfolds, behind the walls of Troy

Priam and Hecuba
As regents of the nation seek only for peace and prosperity
Hector of Troy
Their son, a soldier, a hero
Will proudly court his destiny
Paris
In love with life and its beauty
Hears a goddess call his name
Will he follow his head or his heart to her
Or turn away in vain

Oh, Paris, come wander from your fold
And grant me your apples cast from gold
Answer my call
I can offer it all
Take me as your reward
Be mine, Paris, for ever and ever

A princess of Troy watches over the boy
And prays her senses deceive her
Only Cassandra can see what the future holds
And only her priest will believe her

Oh, Paris, I saw all from the start
One goddess, one human counterpart

The gods give and so they take (So with reason on a razor's edge)
They praise then humiliate (The king of Troy makes a pledge)
Exploit the pleasure and the pain (To send his son in search of peace)
Understanding and goodwill
They destroy then compensate (Will this nation ever be the same)
Lavish love, extol the hate (Or will insanity reign?)
Now a young man heeds the call
Bewitched by a goddess (Paris will you see the truth)
So the debt is called (Or hide you eyes behind the mask of youth?)
You should have known better