Once there was a mountain called Peak XV
Nothing was known about it
But in 1852 the surveyors found it was the highest in the world
And they named it Everest
When men were first drawn to Everest they found it was an unknown quantity
Something entirely beyond them

When men were first drawn to Everest it was an unknown quantity
Something entirely beyond them
Something entirely beyond them

A climber climbs with his guts, his brain, his soul, and his feet
All of them bound for a cold and white world
A world that is all up and up
Up and up

The air is getting thinner and thinner
At such heights when you’re lacking oxygen, you may think you’re normal but you’re not
You’re moving in a dream
A dream that deludes and debilitates

Two very small men cutting steps in the roof of the world
The roof of the world
Up and up
Up and up
Why should a man climb Everest?
Because it is there