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What do I do next?" said the bishop to the priest, |
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"I have spent my whole life waiting, preparing for the feast, |
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And now you say Jerusalem has fallen and is lost, |
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The king of heathen Saracen has seized the holy cross;" |
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Then the priest said "Oh my bishop, we must put them to the sword, |
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For God in all His mercy will find a just reward, |
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For the noblemen and sinners, and knights of ready hand, |
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Who will be the Lord's Crusader, send word through all the land, |
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Jerusalem is lost, |
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Jerusalem is lost, |
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Jerusalem is lost;" |
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"Tell me what to do", said the king upon his throne, |
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"but speak to me in whispers for we are not alone, |
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They tell me that Jerusalem has fallen to the hand, |
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Of some bedevilled eastern Heathen who has seized the Holy Land;" |
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Then the chamberlain said "Lord, we must call upon our foes |
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In Spain and France and Germany to end our bitter wars, |
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All Christian men must be as one and gather for the fight, |
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You will be their leader, begin the battle cry, |
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Jerusalem is lost, |
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Jerusalem is lost, |
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Jerusalem is lost..." |
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Ooh, high on a hill, in the town of Jerusalem, |
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There stood Saladin, the king of the Saracens, |
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Whoring and drinking and snoring and sinking, around him his army lay, |
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Secure in the knowledge that he had won the day; |
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A messenger came, blood on his feet and a wound in his chest, |
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"The Christians are coming!" he said, "I have seen their cross in the west," |
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In a rage Saladin struck him down with his knife, |
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And he said "I know that this man lies, |
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They quarrel too much, the Christians could never unite! |
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I am invincible, I am the king, |
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I am invincible, and I will win..." |
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Closer they came, the army of Richard the Lionheart, |
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Marching by day and night, with soldiers from every part, |
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And when the Crusaders came over the mountain and they saw Jerusalem, |
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They fell to their knees and prayed for her release; |
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They started the battle at dawn, taking the city by storm, |
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With horsemen and bowmen and engines of war, |
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They broke through the city walls, |
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The Heathens were flying and screaming and dying, |
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And the Christian swords were strong, |
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And Saladin ran when he heard their victory song; |
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"We are invincible, God is the king, |
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We are invincible, and we will win!" |
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"What do I do now?" said the wise man to the fool, |
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"I have spent my whole life searching, to find the Golden Rule, |
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Though centuries have disappeared, the memory still remains, |
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Of those enemies together, could it be that way again?" |
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Then the fool said "Oh you wise men, you really make me laugh, |
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With your talk of vast persuasion and searching through the past, |
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There is only greed and evil in the men who fight today, |
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The song of the Crusader has long since gone away, |
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Jerusalem is lost, |
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Jerusalem is lost, |
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Jerusalem is lost... |
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Jerusalem. |
