Oh Prometheus you brought us the fire,
then you gave me what I most desired.
Thank-you for the risk you took to bring these,
you’re gonna have to pay with your kidneys.
Or maybe it’s your liver that is hooked;
Grab a drink before that big bird* takes a look.
Zeus will have you shackled to that rockface,
your liver torn and every morn' replaced.
So brother, thank-you for the real nice light,
for centuries its got us through the night.
Okeanos will come to visit you
to speak about the excesses of Zeus
There Io will seek out your prophesy
thirteen generations later you'll see
strong Heracles coming to set you free,
then come sit beside the fire next to me
(maybe take a good look around the town).
Just be glad you turned that Pandora down.
(refrain)
Prometheus you made man out of clay
you got Gods gifts and gave them all away
You birthed Athena from ol' Zeus's head
You gave us numbers and the alphabet
taught us how to tell the season by stars,
brickworking, woodworking and all the arts
gave us carriages, saddles, ships and sails,
and how to mine the metal to make nails
(refrain)
(refrain)
Thank-you for the risk you took to bring these,
you’re gonna have to pay with your kidneys.
Or maybe it’s your liver that is hooked;
Grab a drink before that big bird takes a look.
So brother, thank-you for the real nice light,
for centuries its got us through the night.
Victoria Vaughn-Perling, Copyright © October 14th 2005
* Mythologies differ over whether the bird was a large eagle or a vulture.