Usher, Part 1

[BRENT]
Side 1, Track 5. “Usher, Part One.”

[GELSEY (Lady Usher)]
I suffer from a family evil
I am a slave to terror

I have a morbid acuteness of the senses
I only eat the most insipid foods
Only wear garments of certain textures
The odors of flowers are oppressive to me
My eyes are tortured by faint light

And there are only certain peculiar sounds
Like those from stringed instruments
Which do not inspire me with horror

I dread the future
My little girl is dying

[DAVE (Edgar)]
ON A DULL, DARK, AND SOUNDLESS DAY
IN THE AUTUMN OF 1873
MY WIFE AND I SAT AT THE BED OF OUR ONLY DAUGHTER
ROXIE

[DAVE & GELSEY]
THE BLEAK WALLS
THE DECAYING TREES
THE UTTER DEPRESSION OF THE SOUL
THE BITTER GHOST OF EVERYDAY LIFE
THE ICY SINKING OF THE HEART

FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS
OUR ROXIE HAD DANCED

[DAVE]
SO BEAUTIFUL

[GELSEY]
DANCED ON THE EDGE OF A STAR

[DAVE & GELSEY]
BUT NOW, FOLLOWING THE LOSS OF HER OWN CHILD
A SICKNESS HAD TAKEN OVER

[GELSEY]
HER CHILD WAS STOLEN
AND SHE BLAMES HERSELF
SHE IS WASTING AWAY
HER LIQUID EYES
HER THIN LIPS
HER PALE SKIN

[DAVE & GELSEY]
HER SPIDER WEB HAIR
FLOATING IN FRONT OF HER FACE

[BRITTAIN (Roxie)]
LITTLE GIRL, LITTLE GIRL
WHERE’S MY LITTLE GIRL
WHERE’S MY STARCHILD?

[DAVE]
THE FATHER WAS LONG GONE
AN ASTRONOMER OF SOME RENOWN

[BRITTAIN]
WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?
WHY DID YOU DISAPPEAR?

[GELSEY]
I BURY MY FACE IN MY HANDS

[DAVE]
ASTONISHMENT AND DREAD
IN THE HOUSE OF USHER