[singer A] In the velvet void before the first light was spoken, Before any name had cleaved the endless night, Apsu the sweet, the freshwater unspoken, Lay calm and deep in subterranean light. Tiamat the salt, the wild and roaring ocean, Mother of all where turbulent currents breed, Their waters coiled in formless, primal motion, Mingling together with no boundary or creed. From their embrace the silt of dreams arose, Lahmu and Lahamu, the muddy-born twins, Then Anshar and Kishar, horizon’s silver glow, Dividing sky from earth where creation begins. Anu the heaven-lord, vast and ever-spanning, Ea the cunning, wisdom’s hidden stream, Young gods stirred with laughter, noise, and clamoring, Shaking the elders from their ancient dream. Apsu grew vexed, his peace forever broken, “No rest remains amid this roaring throng! These noisy children, bold and wild and woken, I shall destroy them in eternal song.” Tiamat lingered in her saline mercy, Urging patience for her offspring’s vibrant play, Yet Apsu plotted with Mummu, sly and thirsty, To drown the young gods in cold and silent gray. Ea perceived the treason in the deep, Wove spells of slumber, heavy as the tide, Struck down the father in his peaceful sleep, Claimed crown and built his hall where sweet waters abide. Upon the corpse of Apsu, still and hallowed, Ea raised sanctuary in the freshwater shrine, There in splendor where cosmic forces followed, Marduk was born—a storm-child fierce and divine. [transition] [singer B] All the tears in your eyes They were salty Sticky But they tasted right Hey Oh They came from your soul It was a good time I hope In the black of the black In the hum of the night We were haloed in static We were swallowed by light [singer A] His eyes flashed lightning, voice rolled as thunder, Four winds attended him in swirling might, Marduk the terrible, the breaker of wonder, Born ready for the war that claimed the light. But Tiamat awoke in grief’s black fury, Her consort slain, her ancient peace defiled, She birthed an army of serpents dark and murky, Venomous dragons with fangs of poison wild. Eleven monsters of chaos’ fierce designing, Scorpion-men and tempests filled with rage, She crowned Kingu among them, fate aligning, Gave him the Tablet of Destinies to wage The war against the gods who shook with fear. Tiamat roared, a tidal wave of war, Her salt-deep legions marching without tear, Against the younger ones who trembled sore. The council faltered, terror ice-descending, Till Marduk rose, his voice a whirlwind’s call: “Grant me kingship absolute, unending, And I shall crush this chaos once for all.” The gods assented, crowns and scepters gleaming, Armed him with net of four winds tightly bound, The bow of lightning, arrows of storm’s scheming, Imhullu the evil wind, destruction’s sound. Into the fray the storm-child charged like thunder, His chariot riding tempests wild and vast, Tiamat met him, dragon jaws asunder, Her maw a cavern where no light could last. He drove the evil wind into her gaping maw, Her belly swelled vast with agony and strain, An arrow pierced her heart in final awe— The Dragon-Mother fell, her forces slain. [instrumental] [singer B] I'll never know It's not my home If I die before I wake Let the earth be erased for my sake I'll never know I'm just a ghost If I slip beneath the waves Let the thunder burn the coast [singer A] He bound Kingu in chains of conquered fate, Seized the Tablet from the traitor’s hand, Then split Tiamat’s corpse like shellfish on a plate, Her body rent across the cosmic span. Upper half he arched into the vaulted sky, Set guards to hold her ribs from falling low, Lower half he spread as broad earth’s vast reply, Her eyes became the Tigris and Euphrates’ flow. From her nostrils rose the mountain ranges towering, Her teats became the fountains pure and bright, Her tail he coiled as distant bounds empowering, Her blood he mixed with clay in sacred rite. Thus humankind, the clay-monster race, was born, To bear the gods’ hard labor, till the soil, That Anunnaki might rest from dusk till morn, While mortals toiled beneath the cosmic toil. Marduk then spoke the Names—fifty titles splendid, Each one a seal upon the ordered whole: Asaru the fashioner, chaos amended, Shazu the heart-knower, reading every soul. Enbilulu the canal-opener, abundant flow, Nebiru the star-stationer, crossing bright, Tutu the restorer, merciful and prudent glow, Gibil the purifier with purifying light. [singer B] That I'd never know It wasn't my home If I die before I wake Let the earth be erased for my sake That I'd never know I left the throne If I burn in all this noise Let the dark come take my bones
