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copyrighted
by David Rood
except as noted.
In the World's Dusk
Story
This is a retelling of Golden Age writer Edmond Hamilton's story of the last man on Earth and his attempts to save humanity.
Lyrics
(chorus)Twelve gates to the city
Eleven in the shade
A figure in the tower
In the last light of the day
No feature breaks the salt plain
Surrounding the last man
Time erases everything
Except for Galos Gann
Verse 1:
As far below the city as the tower to the clouds
A chamber’s lit by dim blue light, and only he knows how
Upon the walls is told the story of humanity
And the final generation lies here; only one last place is empty
How do you stop the voice of lonliness when all are dead?
Can the sum of human knowledge bring peace inside your head?
You recreate the chemicals and bring rhythm to still hearts
And when they open up their eyes it’s the fruit of all your art
The caricature of a man speaks with a hollow sound:
"Galos Gann, what madness is this? Why take us from the ground?"
He told them to resume their trades and live as man and wife
He demanded the deceased to join and bring forth new life
"You paragon of animals! You quintessence of dust!
Beat your little hands against the door,
but join us soon you must;
Yes, join us soon you must."
The streets soon were full of the sounds of labor, trade and home
But hearing the dead’s laughter sent chills into his bones
The withered moon came and it went; the stars gave their cold stare
Then finally a child was born, but there was no soul there
(chorus)
Verse 2:
The thought appeared like lightning ripping through the atmosphere
"Though I’m alone, a multitude of people once lived here:
To find the living souls I need, I need not move an inch!"
He built the world’s first time machine and, trembling, threw the switch
He heard the cosmic thunder; he witnessed the primal force
The river of time profanely interrupted in its course
The city shook upon its foundations ‘til he stopped
And living men and women waited for the door to be unlocked
He welcomed them most joyfully and told them of his plan
They would be the parents to the race of Galos Gann
Then from their mouths he heard not words, but a shrieking out of Hell
For when he tore them out of time he tore their minds as well
Day and night they raved in both the buildings and the streets
Until he felt the scream inside him grow
So he destroyed them to the last
He destroyed them to the last
(chorus)
Verse 3:
Well he could not prolong the race, so he had to start anew
And he began a task no human ever dreamed to do
He dug a chamber deep inside the planet’s iron mass
And from that place he generated waves to scratch the surface
Lava flew and gases blew and new came from the old
And it would be a million years before the rock was cold
He made sure that the clouds had formed; at the first fall of rain
Galos Gann went into sleep until man rose again
He woke, scarcely believing that millenia had gone
For in his sleep, an instant and eternity were one
He knew that Death was waiting as soon as he went forth
To view with pride his second race of man that he had birthed
Two gates to the city; one was in the shade
A figure in the tower in the last light of the day.
The other said, "I am the last one to be found alive;
And my hour is now upon me." And he fell
At the feet of Galos Gann
The feet of Galos Gann
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