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belshazzar's feast - william walton lyrics

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thus spake isaiah –
thy sons that thou shalt beget
they shall be taken away
and be eunuchs
in the palace of the king of babylon
howl ye, howl ye, therefore:
for the day of the lord is at hand!

by the waters of babylon
by the waters of babylon
there we sat down: yea, we wept
and hanged our harps upon the willows

for they that wasted us
required of us mirth;
they that carried us away captive
required of us a song
sing us one of the songs of zion

how shall we sing the lord’s song
in a strange land?

if i forget thee, o jerusalem
let my right hand forget her cunning
if i do not remember thee
let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth
yea, if i prefer not jerusalem above my chief joy

by the waters of babylon
there we sat down: yea, we wept

o daughter of babylon, who art to be destroyed
happy shall he be that taketh thy children
and dasheth them against a stone
for with violence shall that great city babylon be thrown down
and shall be found no more at all

babylon was a great city
her merchandise was of gold and silver
of precious stones, of pearls, of fine linen
of purple, silk and scarlet
all manner vessels of ivory
all manner vessels of most precious wood
of br-ss, iron and marble
cinnamon, odours and ointments
of frankincense, wine and oil
fine flour, wheat and beasts
sheep, horses, chariots, slaves
and the souls of men

in babylon
belshazzar the king
made a great feast
made a feast to a thousand of his lords
and drank wine before the thousand

belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine
commanded us to bring the gold and silver vessels:
yea! the golden vessels, which his father, nebuchadnezzar
had taken out of the temple that was in jerusalem

he commanded us to bring the golden vessels
of the temple of the house of god
that the king, his princes, his wives
and his concubines might drink therein

then the king commanded us:
bring ye the cornet, flute, sackbut, psaltery
and all kinds of music: they drank wine again
yea, drank from the sacred vessels
and then spake the king:

praise ye
the god of gold
praise ye
the god of silver
praise ye
the god of iron
praise ye
the god of wood
praise ye
the god of stone
praise ye
the god of br-ss
praise ye the gods!

thus in babylon, the mighty city
belshazzar the king made a great feast
made a feast to a thousand of his lords
and drank wine before the thousand

belshazzar whiles he tasted the wine
commanded us to bring the gold and silver vessels
that his princes, his wives and his concubines
might rejoice and drink therein

after they had praised their strange gods
the idols and the devils
false gods who can neither see nor hear
called they for the timbrel and the pleasant harp
to extol the glory of the king
then they pledged the king before the people
crying, thou, o king, art king of kings:
o king, live for ever…

and in that same hour, as they feasted
came forth fingers of a man’s hand
and the king saw
the part of the hand that wrote

and this was the writing that was written:
‘mene, mene, tekel upharsin’
‘thou art weighed in the balance
and found wanting’
in that night was belshazzar the king slain
and his kingdom divided

then sing aloud to god our strength:
make a joyful noise unto the god of jacob
take a psalm, bring hither the timbrel
blow up the trumpet in the new moon
blow up the trumpet in zion
for babylon the great is fallen, fallen
alleluia!

then sing aloud to god our strength:
make a joyful noise unto the god of jacob
while the kings of the earth lament
and the merchants of the earth
weep, wail and rend their raiment
they cry, alas, alas, that great city
in one hour is her judgement come

the trumpeters and pipers are silent
and the harpers have ceased to harp
and the light of a candle shall shine no more

then sing aloud to god our strength
make a joyful noise to the god of jacob
for babylon the great is fallen
alleluia!

- william walton lyrics

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