In a meadow, soft and green
Sat the young Persephone.
Gaily she, Goddess of the spring,
Laughed and began to sing:
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
It is of you that I sing!
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Hear my song, let it ring!
Riding. Riding. Galloping. Galloping.
A dark, swift chariot raced.
A chariot owned by an immortal king.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Let time pass slow.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
How I love thee so!
Dark Hades heard rising from below.
To a halt came the steed of the dead.
Silently, the enchanted Hades listened
To Persephone in the valley meadow.
Lovely meadow!
Dancing spring!
Beauty is not a sin!
Lovely meadow!
Dancing spring!
Tis' your heart I must win!
The dark Hades cried, resolute.
Up to Olympus the deathly king rode
(To this new feeling he did salute)
Up to the palace of Zeus the eldest god rode!
Lovely meadow!
Dancing spring!
It is of you that I sing!
Lovely meadow!
Dancing spring!
Hear my song, let it ring!
Was all that went through Hades's head
As he received a reply from his brother.
"Demeter will never allow you to wed,
I permit this bond, if you will take no other.
Persephone won't allow such as home as yours,
You will have to abduct her."
Lovely meadow!
Dancing spring!
I am the one who is not seen!
Lovely meadow!
Dancing spring!
I will have thee as my queen!
In the valley meadow
Danced the young Persephone.
Waiting in the world below,
Hades stood, unseen.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Soon you will be with me.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Soon mine you will be!
Bending down to pick a flower
The Earth, it opened its mighty jaws
Hades emerged, radiant with power.
Grabbed Persephone and rode away with her.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Why fight me so?
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Don't you see? You must go!
The horses of shadows raced.
They sensed their masters urgency
As he thought on the challenges he faced.
Persephone cried and shrieked
"Let me go! Let me be!"
Lovely meadow.
Dancing spring.
This place is strange. It frightens me.
Lovely meadow.
Dancing spring.
Don't forget your friend, Persephone.
The young goddess said her goodbyes to the sun.
She waved goodbye to her perfect meadows.
She knew now that a new life had begun,
A life of darkness in Hades's realm below.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
I wish to see you smile again.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
My smile is gone, my heart is broken.
Persephone wept as she looked about.
Hades took her hand.
"You're my queen. There's no way out."
His heart was nothing but dust and sand.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
I heard my daughter scream.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Tell me. Things are not always what they seem.
Demeter had heard her daughter's shrieks.
She had heard the calls of distress.
Now she wanders. Persephone she seeks.
"Persephone! My daughter!" Cried the worried mistress.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Have you seen my daughter?
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Without her here, you I will slaughter.
Holding torches to light the way,
Demeter searched both night and day.
"Demeter! I have seen Persephone!
I shall tell you where she is, for you I pity."
Helios, god of the sun, assured the mother goddess.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
My daughter? You know where she is?
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Tell me please, I cannot find her in the abyss.
"Persephone was taken away,
Your dark brother, Hades, stole her from thee.
Do not let your anger stray,
For Zeus is why you search for Persephone."
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Turn your eyes away.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Zeus is in trouble today.
Goddess of the Harvest stormed into the throne room.
"Zeus! Our daughter is in the realm of Hades,
The Lord of the Dead is her groom!
You let him take her and with her what he please?"
Lovely meadow,
Dancing stream,
My daughter will return home.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
No longer shall she roam.
"Demeter! Calm yourself!" the Almighty Zeus demanded.
Demeter was in a wild rage.
The human world slowly diminished
As the Earth was put through the famine of the age.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
The world is dying and I'm to blame.
Hermes was sent to retrieve Persephone
Bring her to the world above.
Hades was to release her, set her free.
Hades was to let go of the one he loved.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Eat for me Pomegranate seeds.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
I wish for you to return. That is all Hades needs.
Smiling devilishly, Lord Hades nodded.
Taking his bride's hand, he walked to his chariot.
Hermes knew not what Hades plotted.
To Olympus they rode, on Hades's chariot.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
It is of you that I sing.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Hear my song, let it ring.
Persephone! Persephone! Olympians cried.
No cry was louder or more emotional than Demeter's.
Mother! Oh, Mother! Persephone replied.
Love's embrace found Persephone happy at last.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Did you eat while with this king?
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Alas, you must return to this foul being.
Hades heart ached.
Happy he was for Persephone, true.
Yet, he loved her. For her his entire kingdom had been shaked.
For her. Only for her. It would be this day that he would rue.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
I cannot wait for the day you come homeward.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Please, time, move faster. Move onward.
With Hades for half the year Persephone stays.
For half the year Persephone stays with Demeter.
For half the year, Persephone dances in the sun's rays.
For half the year, the world endures a cold it cannot deter.
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
It is of you that I sing!
Lovely meadow,
Dancing spring,
Hear my song, let it ring!