The Envoy Arrives At Königsberg, Tuesday

Paroles de « The Envoy Arrives At Königsberg, Tuesday »

Intro: wind and a distant creaking gate before

Verse

Tuesday, the ninth of October, sixteen sixty-three.
The envoy enters Königsberg by the Brandenburg gate.
Credentials presented in triplicate, sealed with wax and cord.
One copy for the Elector, one for the chancery, one retained.
The escort numbers fourteen horse.
The ground is firm. The sky is low.
He is lodged in the east wing, second floor, above the ditch.

Verse

Item the first: the toll at the river crossing.
Item the second: the toll on salt in transit.
Item the third: exemptions claimed by the Hanseatic houses.
Two hours are allotted. Two hours are used.
The secretary trims the quill. The secretary writes.
A finger lifted from the table comes up grey.

Chorus

Rights of toll. Rights of toll. Rights of toll.

Verse: female counter-voice

Per the standing instrument, article four:
no new impost shall be levied without consent of the estates.
Nothing in these proceedings shall be construed as precedent.
The parties reserve all rights.

Chorus

Rights of toll. Rights of toll. Rights of toll.

Instrumental

Verse

Dinner is served at four.
Pike in a pepper sauce. Beer from the ducal brewery.
Nine at the table. The chaplain says the grace.
The envoy compliments the fish and is thanked.
A mason's level lies forgotten on the window ledge,
the bubble standing dead between its marks.
The candle gutters. The red wax hardens to a green-black crust.

Verse: an octave lower

At six he calls for the horses.
At seven he is past the outer wall.
The minutes are filed. The minutes are never read.
The toll stands at four groschen, as it stood on Monday.
Tuesday, the ninth of October, sixteen sixty-three.
Beyond the ditch, the painted sea stays blue.

Outro

Rights of toll. Rights of toll.
Nothing shall be construed as precedent.