Old Man & Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

The road that I live on is somewhat rural, there are strawberry fields on one side, a couple churches and a few houses spaced far apart.

I went for a walk this afternoon, and ran into these two tall men who were walking in the opposite direction, towards me. They were identical twins, dressed the same and they both had blond stringy shoulder length hair. They looked like surfers that had just stepped out of the 70's and they spoke with a deep southern drawl.

The first brother asked me if he could ask me a question. They needed directions to the 101 and were wondering if there was a convenience store along the way before they got to the next town. I told them to take the road just before the cemetery, that that was a short cut.

The second brother was walking just a little further behind. I kind of wanted to stare, they where both so tall, so otherworldly, I looked at him and smiled.

He also asked me if he could ask me a question. He was wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Albert Einstein on it but I couldn't make out what it said. He asked how old I thought he looked. I told him that he looked my age. When he stopped to talk to me he took a couple steps back into the road as a car was approaching. His brother told him to be careful. So then, I asked, "how old do I look?" He was smiling, in fact the whole time they where both smiling, even when I first saw them from far away. He said 23. I said, "there you go," and he didn't say anything and smiled even more.

So I went to get my camera. Of course I couldn't find them and it's a long road, they seemed to have just disappeared.

I've kind of just spooked myself thinking back on this. They've been constructing a new road, so what was once a crossroad is now permanently blocked. Maybe these two brothers were spirits trying to find their way? Perhaps Jon and Jim are actually really really old and it was a trick question he was asking me? It's been about 12 days since I've taken this walk and its the exact same spot that I ran into another traveler and I had an interesting conversation with him too.

Its cool that two brothers were on a long walk together and that they're also twins. I bet that must be a special kind of love. Perhaps Jim in front, he might of been the older of the two (by how many minutes (?) I should have asked); because he seemed to be looking out for Jon.

No, I'm not really scared but I might watch that sleepy bunny video right now before I jump into bed:)

Neil Young Old Man live in '71

IRON MAIDEN "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner"

Hear the rime of the ancient mariner
See his eye as he stops one of three
Mesmerises one of the wedding guests
Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea.

And the music plays on, as the bride passes by
Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale.

Driven south to the land of the snow and ice
To a place where nobody's been
Through the snow fog flies on the albatross
Hailed in God's name, hoping good luck it brings.

And the ship sails on, back to the North
Through the fog and ice and the albatross follows on.

The mariner kills the bird of good omen
His shipmates cry against what he's done
But when the fog clears, they justify him
And make themselves a part of the crime.

Sailing on and on and north across the sea
Sailing on and on and north 'til all is calm.

The albatross begins with its vengeance
A terrible curse a thirst has begun
His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner
About his neck, the dead bird is hung.

And the curse goes on and on AND ON at sea
And the thirst goes on and on for them and me.

"Day after day, day after day,
we stuck nor breath nor motion
as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
Water, water everywhere and
all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink."

There calls the mariner
There comes a ship over the line
But how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide.

See...onward she comes
Onward she nears out of the sun
See, she has no crew
She has no life, wait but there's two.

Death and she Life in Death,
They throw their dice for the crew
She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.
Then...crew one by one
they drop down dead, two hundred men
She...she, Life in Death.
She lets him live, her chosen one.

"One after one by the star dogged moon,
too quick for groan or sigh
each turned his face with a ghastly pang
and cursed me with his eye
four times fifty living men
(and I heard nor sigh nor groan)
with heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
they dropped down one by one."

The curse it lives on in their eyes
The mariner he wished he'd die
Along with the sea creatures
But they lived on, so did he.

And by the light of the moon
He prays for their beauty not doom
With heart he blesses them
God's creatures all of them too.

Then the spell starts to break
The albatross falls from his neck
Sinks down like lead into the sea
Then down in falls comes the rain.

Hear the groans of the long dead seamen
See them stir and they start to rise
Bodies lifted by good spirits
None of them speak and they're lifeless in their eyes

And revenge is still sought, penance starts again
Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.

Now the curse is finally lifted
And the mariner sights his home
spirits go from the long dead bodies
Form their own light and the mariner's left alone.

And then a boat came sailing towards him
It was a joy he could not believe
The pilot's boat, his son and the hermit,
Penance of life will fall onto him.

And the ship it sinks like lead into the sea
And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins.

The mariner's bound to tell of his story
To tell this tale wherever he goes
To teach God's word by his own example
That we must love all things that God made.

And the wedding guest's a sad and wiser man
And the tale goes on and on and on.







Prmlimajr (6 months ago)

There is only one band in the world capable of making a 12 years old brazilian boy read Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Epic!

drolliaverbg (7 months ago)

English dictionary, the word epic. There is only one description, Iron Maiden, Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

MrNovokmet (1 day ago)

the best 13 minutes,I've spent in a long time.what tale,what a lesson

PoisonBlade415 (1 day ago)

@MrNovokmet more like 14 minutes...