Nigh to God (Remastered)

[intro, spoken word, medieval, bardic] Come hither and harken– [lute intro, medieval, melancholic] Draw near. I confess to thee, Almighty God, and to all the saints that I have sinned most grievously. And yet — I repent of nothing. [Verse 1] (Lute enters — sparse) Thou didst bid me violate thee Thou didst bid me desecrate thee Thou didst bid me penetrate thee Thou didst bid me confound thee (Succor me) Mine entrails be sundered (Succor me) I have no soul to sell (Succor me) The only balm that sootheneth me Help me flee from mine own self [Chorus] (Full ensemble — shawm leads) Fain would I swive thee like a beast of field Fain would I feel thee from within Fain would I swive thee like a beast of field Mine every humour is corrupted Thou dost bring me nigh to God [Bridge] (Pull back — lute and voice only) Thou canst claim my sequestration Thou canst claim the hate it doth breed Thou canst claim my lack of devotion Thou canst claim my every deed [Swell — full ensemble returns] (Succor me) Thou dost raze my reason (Succor me) Thy musk, I scent it well (Succor me) Thou dost make me whole Help me become another soul [Chorus] (Reprise — full and driving) Fain would I swive thee like a beast of field Fain would I feel thee from within Fain would I swive thee like a beast of field Mine every humour is corrupted Thou dost bring me nigh to God [Outro] (Plainchant — single voice, no accompaniment) Through every forest, 'bove the trees Within my belly, scraped off my knees I drink thy honey from thine hive Thou art the reason I survive [Spoken Outro] (Drone fades — silence beneath) Thus endeth the tale of one mayhaps undone by flesh. Whether I found salvation or damnation therein, none can say. Perhaps both. Perhaps they are the same. Know we only that I went nigh to God, and was not sorry for it. And God, it seemeth, drew me close. [Final musical sting]