Indian Beard:

Second part of the „Ancient Mariner“ trilogy. The melody of the main part results
from noodling with an indian pentatonic scale. It was not easy to find an adequate
“western” harmonic pattern, but eventually it fits together with the other parts and
provides a steady shift from calmer to rougher parts with the respective shifting time
signatures. It feels as if crimsonesque and celtic sounds are amalgamating. In
between – as the ancient mariner was also helplessly hoping in the tropic sea –
the “Dance of the Watersnakes”, which you can hear after one of the vocal parts.

Lyrics Indian Beard:

(Music: Fastenmeier / Lyrics: Coleridge, arr. Fastenmeier)

All in a hot and copper sky
The bloody sun, at noon,
right above the mast did stand
About, about, in reel and rout
the death-fires danced at night
The water, like a witch’s oil

The sun came up upon the left
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
went down into the sea
higher higher (every day)

And now there came both mist and snow
and it grew wond’rous cold
And ice, mast-high, came floating by
And through the drifts the snowy clifts
did send a dismal sheen
nor shapes of men nor beasts, ye ken

The sun now rose upon the right
Out of the sea came he!
Still hid in mist, and on the left
went down into the sea