Prologue Of Dionysos

DIONYSOS
Transcendence, transcendence, transcendence
transcendence, there's no more sense
of transcendence now in this world
devils and gods now they are unemployed
they're only good for the museum
the painters
the prisoners
the victims
the gamblers
the heathen
the philosopher
Casanova
the composers
the coal-miners
Jean-Luc Godard
the mediums
the physicians
footballers
teenagers
Frankenstein
the revolutioners
the collectors
the businessmen
pirates
and drifters
and believers
television
tunnel vision
I was a worker
in the arsehole of the planet
an excellent worker
always punctual
and correctly dressed
for the hell
of the foundry
my first day
in the foundry
ugly birthday for a man
what they call a man
in my family
in the morning
I drank white milk
by that evening
I had earned red wine
like the red hot ore
I pour pour

poor was the worker
a very hard worker
and my skin was ripped open
by the tongue of the fire
and the heat
dried the blood
in the veins
of the workers
they crawled out
of this foundry
destroyed
just like zombies

a corpse in the cool of the night
exhausted a man exiled
from the pleasures and caress of this life
once at my cousins
I heard a strange music
deep and strong
light and free
like a new blood
a new hope
an unexpected salt

I wanted to possess each note of this music
now I had a beautiful purpose
to destroy myself in the foundry
spring clear spring
seeping into my whole body
insatiably instilled in me
a desire to be free
erotic voices of the passion
thousands and thousands of albums
innoculated me
with their secret stories
inflamed my life
opera

devils and gods now
are my friends
and I know what it is
yes I know now
I know what it is

un soir le mois dernier
je marchais épuisé
par ces heures, par ces journées perdues
quand sa voix arriva dans la rue
la voix d'un diva
sortie de l'opéra
que voilà
et tout l'air en tremblait
moi j'était paralysé
longtemps je l'ai attendue
et dès que je l'ai vue
dédaigneuse et si belle
impossible et vaine et réele
là devant moi, diva de l'opéra

nobody can ever
deny me this pleasure
for now it's in my heart
my blood
the music of love

Prologue Of Dionysos (unreleased cover)
Words by	Muriel Teodori
Music by	Steve Nieve
Performed by	Elvis Costello, Steve Nieve, The Brodsky Quartet & Ned Rothenberg
Note	Prologue of Dionysos was sung by Elvis in the 2000-06-09 performance of Welcome To The Voice. In the studio recording of the opera released in 2007 and the staged performances in Paris in 2008, the role of Dionysos was taken by Sting and Elvis featured in a different role, so he does not sing this song.