The Last Poets
Be
[Chorus]
First Day
Beyonder!
Last night
Beyonder!
Beginning of the end
Beyonder!
Of the twilight flight
Beyonder!

Narrator:
Spring came
But it wasn't the same
And all the animals could sense something was wrong
There had been a drought, then a flood
Then the flowers didn't bud
And the groundhog's shadow was too long

[Chorus]
First Day
Beyonder!
Last night
Beyonder!
Beginning of the end
Beyonder!
Of the twilight flight
Beyonder!
Winter had carved a brand
Deep within the land
Leaving the earth barren and bare
The soil could no longer yield the vast acres of fields
It had yielded in previous years

Strange sky hung over head
Tinted a copper crimson red
Streaked with jagged shades of black
Horizons seemed to absorb it
Suspending the sun from it's orbit
While from the ground it appeared to be cracked

[Chorus]
First Day
Beyonder!
Last night
Beyonder!
Beginning of the end
Beyonder!
Of the twilight flight
Beyonder!

Dense blankets of smog hovered over each city like a fog
Making the clouds appear dull and gray
None of the birds had returned from their winter sojourn
To welcome this strange spring day
Beyonder! Beyonder! Beyonder!

The fixed stars and constellations had unmoored from their fixations
And altered their shapes and COURSE

Time stood still and motion was nil
And mankind was at a loss

Each month had grown shorter by a lunar quarter
And the rain no longer fell

The moon's pull became stronger
As the nights grew longer
And the days seemed hot as hell

[Chorus]
First Day
Beyonder!
Last night
Beyonder!
Beginning of the end
Beyonder!
Of the twilight flight
Beyonder!

The world was in a perpetual state of war
And had lost track of the score
In the struggle between the weak and the STRONG
The conflict had been INTENSE
Filled with their gross VIOLENCE
Of the righteous in opposition to the WRONG

There was raping and LOOTING
Violence and SHOOTING
Until blood ran red in the streets

Discord and strife had become a way of life
And each episode was ALL REPEATS

[Chorus]
First Day
Beyonder!
Last night
Beyonder!
Beginning of the end
Beyonder!
Of the twilight flight
Beyonder!

Soon the distant rumbling of mountains crumbling
Could be heard for miles around

And the splitting of turf caused by cracks in the Earth
And MADE A ROARING DEAFENING SOUND

Beyonder! Beyonder! Beyonder!

Then the seas began to Boil and thrashed about in Turmoil
Flooding all the surrounding terrain

This caused the poles to shift
Set icebergs adrift blocking all shipping lanes

[Chorus]
First Day
Beyonder!
Last night
Beyonder!
Beginning of the end
Beyonder!
Of the twilight flight
Beyonder!

Volcanic eruptions brought forth destruction
The wild animals fled in fright

Tropical islands split bit by bit
Deserts froze overnight

Forest fires BLAZED, and cities were RAZED

Earthquakes, cyclones, and hail
Tidal waves and typhoons accompanied flash flooding monsoons
Along with hurricanes, tornadoes, and GALES

Beyonder! Beyonder!

Fish by the scores were washed up on the shores
And were scorched as they lay in the sand

And all the insects had gathered as if nothing else mattered
And began to RAVAGE THE LAND

[Chorus]
First Day
Beyonder!
Last night
Beyonder!
Beginning of the end
Beyonder!
Of the twilight flight
Beyonder!

RATS RAN IN PACKS
STAGING RAIDS AND ATTACKS
ON ANYTHING EDIBLE THEY COULD FIND

PANIC AND HYSTERIA SPREAD ALONG WITH PLAGUES AND BACTERIA TO UNLEASH AN EPIDEMIC ON MANKIND

[Chorus]
First Day
Beyonder!
Last night
Beyonder!
Beginning of the end
Beyonder!
Of the twilight flight
Beyonder!

CORPSES PILED HIGH BENEATH THE COPPER CRIMSON SKY
TILL THE STENCH ROSE UP ABOVE THE CLOUDS

A SCAVENGER FEAST UPON THE REMAINS OF THE DECEASED
WAS ENACTED BY THE STARVED CRAZED CROWD

[Chorus]
First Day
Beyonder!
Last night
Beyonder!
Beginning of the end
Beyonder!
Of the twilight flight
Beyonder!

MEN STAGGERED ABOUT AS IF DRUNK WITH THEIR MINDS DEFUNCT WHILE THEIR WOMEN SWOONED AND SWAYED

SINNERS LAMENTED, HYPOCRITES REPENTED WHILE A HAND-FULL OF THE RIGHTEOUS PRAYED

[Chorus]
First Day
Beyonder!
Last night
Beyonder!
Beginning of the end
Beyonder!
Of the twilight flight
Beyonder!

REALITY BECAME DISTORTED
EXPECTING MOTHERS ABORTED
AND ALL THE CHILDREN'S HAIR TURNED TO GRAY

SALT TASTED SWEET IN THE SWELTERING HEAT
AND YOU COULDN'T TELL THE NIGHT FROM THE DAY