Phish - The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday lyrics

Wilson

Wilson

Wilson

Wilson

Wilson once upon a time
There was a mountain that rose out
Of a vast green forest and in the forest
There were birds and lakes and
Rocks and trees and rivers
The forest was also inhabited by
A small group of
People called the Lizards the Lizards
Were simple people and they
Had lived in the forest
Undisturbed for thousands of
Years in utter peace and tranquility once a
Year when spring came and the first
Blossoms began to show
The Lizards would gather
At the base of the mountain, to give
Thanks for all that they had they thanked
The birds and they thanked the lakes
And they thanked the rocks and the trees
And the rivers but most importantly
They thanked Icculus

Icculus lived on top of the mountain
Or at least everyone thought so, for
No one had actually ever seen him
But they knew he existed
Because they had the Helping
Friendly Book icculus had given
The Helping Friendly
Book to the Lizards thousands of years
Earlier as a gift it contained all of
The knowledge inherent in the universe, and
Had enabled the Lizards to
Exist in harmony with
Nature for years and so they lived
Until one day a traveler
Arrived in Gamehendge
His name was Wilson and he quickly
Became intrigued by the Lizards' way of life
He asked if he could stay on
And live in the forest and the Lizards
Who had never seen an outsider
Were happy to oblige

Wilson lived with the Lizards
For a few years, studying the ways of the
Helping Friendly Book, and all was well
Until one morning when they awoke
And the book was
Gone wilson explained that he
Had hidden the book
Knowing that the Lizards had become
Dependent on it for survival
He declared himself king and
Enslaved the innocent people
Of Gamehendge he cut down the
Trees and built a city, which he called
PRussia and in the center of the
City he built a castle, and locked in the
Highest tower of the castle lay
The Helping Friendly Book
Out of the reach of
The Lizards forever but our story begins in
A different time, not in Gamehendge
But on a suburban street in Long Island
And our hero is no king
Sitting in a castle he is a
Retired colonel shaving in his bathroom

Colonel Forbin looked square in the
Mirror and dragged the
Blade across his cold creamed skin he saw the
Tired little folds of flesh that
Lay in a heap
Beneath his eyes fifty-two years
Of obedient self-restraint
Of hiding his tension
Behind a serene veil of composure
For fifty-two years he
Had piled it all on the back burner
And for fifty-two years it had boiled
Frothing over in a turbulent storm
Inside of him it had
Escaped through his eyes
Reacting with the cigarette smoke and
The fluorescent lights and
Slowly accumulating into a sagging
Mass he ran his
Dripping palm across the stubble
On the nape of
His neck and thought again about the door

He had discovered the door some months
Back on one of his
Ritualistic morning walks with his dog
McGrupp it had started out
As a typical stroll with McGrupp
Bounding joyously ahead of the
Preoccupied colonel as they reached the
Apex of the hill
He saw it and he knew it had always
Been there
And felt foolish for overlooking the door for
So long at first, he tried to ignore it
But he soon found that it was
Impossible, and slowly his
Newly acquired knowledge
Transformed his dreary life into a
Prison from which there was only one
Escape and on this morning
Colonel Forbin stepped through the door