[Instrumental Intro]
[Verse 1]
The first ape soon will take a knee and pledge his will to soil
Then he will erect his temples to defy his coil
And once up high, he'll dread the sky and long for land's embrace
[Bridge 1]
It all began with flowers with leaves both sharp and round
A simian Mephistopheles
A Promethean still bound
[Chorus 1]
The first ape on new Earth will wade through fields of glass
Some reflect his lips, others contain the stars in double-helix shards
The first State will draw breath in rhyming pantomime
The rose blades dance in time
[Verse 2]
He forges now a chain so cruel and names it's every link
After the astronomers, the wormholes and doctrines
Cast 'round the Moon, then 'round the Sun but never long enough
[Bridge 2]
Knife flowers bloom in daggers with poison-coated tips
Our simian Mephistopheles
Holds two in every grip
[Chorus 2]
The first ape on new Earth will wade through fields of glass
Some reflect his lips, others contain the stars in double-helix shards
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 3]
Terrified and in mid-flight, his test-tube feathers crack
Raining down tar-like religions and sulphuric art
And there up high he'll try to shine but never bright enough
[Bridge 3]
Dagger tips to rosary beads in his celestial noose
Our simian Mephistopheles
A Promethean so cold
[Chorus 3]
The first ape on new Earth now wishes he were last
He's finally shed his skin
And he has fashioned wings
That just as soon he'd clip
[Outro]
The last ape in the seas
Is a god that knows no bound
The last ape in the seas
Yet grows weak at the knees
When his mind breaks new ground