The best lyrics to any track ever

As part of my research for the Novel That Will Never Be Finished, I have an ongoing interest in the Hashishin - the Shi'ite sect of assassins masterminded by Hassan-i Sabbah, who would command absolute loyalty by drugging his followers with wine and hashish, whereupon they would fall asleep. On waking, an earthly paradise would be revealed to them; a cornucopia of flesh and wine and food. Their master would tell how they had tasted heaven and that, should they do his bidding and die in the process, the same paradise would await them in the afterlife.

In 1999 the band Sleep (including Matt Pike from High on Fire and Justin Marler - now an ordained priest) released the crushingly-heavy one hour six-part doom opus Jerusalem - an homage to the same 12th century sect. Not only is the entire album an awesome riff-laden odyssey, but the lyrics are an inspired synthesis of doom-metal tropes and Rasta rootsology (referencing a medieval Persian secret society.) While I clearly do not endorse all the sentiments contained within, I reckon the lyrics rank as probably the best EVER committed to vinyl:

Drop out of life with bong in hand
Follow the smoke towards the riff-filled land
Drop out of life with bong in hand
Follow the smoke towards the riff-filled land
Proceeds the Weedian, Nazareth
Proceeds the Weedian, Nazareth
Creedsmen roll out across the dying down
Sacred Israel Holy Mount Zion
Sun beams down onto the sandean reigns
Caravan migrates through deep sandscape
Lungsmen unearth the creed of Hashishin
Lebanon
Desert legion smoke covenant is complete
Herb bails re-tied onto backs of beasts
Stoner caravan emerge from sand sea
Earthling inserts the chalice, the green cutchie
Groundation soul finds trust upon smoking hose
Assembled Creedsmen rises prayer-filled smoke
Golgotha
Judgement soon come to Mankind
Green Herbsmen serve rightful king
Hemp seed caravan carries
Rides out believer with the spliff aflame
Marijuana-naut escapes Earth to cultivate
Grow-room is church temple of the new stoner breed
Chants loud robed priest down onto the freedom-seed
Burnt offering redeems, completes smoked deliverance
Caravan stoned deliverants
The caravan holds to Eastern creed
Now smokes believer
The Chronicle of the Sinsemillan
Drop out of life with bong in hand
Follow the smoke toward the riff-filled land
Drop out of life with bong in hand
Follow the smoke
Jerusalem

Posted by monoman at 01:10 AM on May 09, 2009