The worm and the tree lyrics Procol Harum

The worm and the tree

Into a great tree a small worm did go
It wormed its way inwards and soon it did grow
The tree was unhappy but what could it do?
It stood there in silence: the worm grew and grew
The tree was unhappy but what could it say
The worm kept on growing the tree sank away
The worm was so greedy it ate more each day
And each day it ate more the tree shrank away
The worm was so loathsome it felt no disgrace
The birds had been silenced the sun shunned that place
And all of the forest grew fearful to see
What terrible fate lay in store for the tree
The worm grew so monstrous its greed knew no bounds
The smell was so awful if poisoned the ground
And all of the creatures that lived in the wood
Were sickened and starving the worm spoiled their food
The birds would not sing and the sun could not shine
The forest lay dirty and blackened with grime
Now down in the forest a young man went riding
He passed by the great tree and saw it was dying
The leaves and the bark were all rotten and rife
The tree had been poisoned and drained for its life
He stripped of a piece of the bark of the tree
And straight'way he know what the right cure should be
The man built a fire and chopped down the tree
The worm started screaming it could not break free
It trashed and it lashed but it could net break loose
Trapped in that tree like a thief in a noose
The worm burst asunder a vile smelling crust
He hacked it to pieces and burnt it to dust
The forest seemed clearer and peacful at last
Like after a storm when the rainclouds have passed
And although the great tree was fallen and dead
They knew from the ashes a new life would spread
Yes although the great tree had fallen and died
They knew from the ashes a new one would thrive
Now years may have passed since the tale I have told
Yet the truth of this story does still seem to hold
Although from a great tree a small worm may grow
That eats it with poison and tortures its soul
The worm can be killed yet the tree be not dead
For from the roots of the elder a new life will spread