Peter Hammill
Empire of Delight
[Instrumental Intro]

[Verse 1]
Memory extends its empire
Holds the frame but blurs the line
Some other time invades the sense
A moment caught and lost, second sight

[Verse 2]
Suddenly I feel you near me
Worlds away and close as this
One stolen kiss upon my lips
And the moment slips away in mid-flight

[Verse 3]
So many years ago, and now it's hard
To recall just what you meant to me
So I wait, I'm patient
For the memory comes to me eventually
Here you are, and though you may soon be gone
Somehow the song still burns as bright

[Refrain]
I felt it happen here tonight –
Here, in the Empire of Delight
[Instrumental]

[Verse 4]
Dream and ghost the world around me
You seem as real as ever you were...
But in a blur your breath on my cheek
Has gone and the evening come into night

[Verse 5]
So many years ago, and now it's hard
To recall quite what you meant to me
Still I wait, impatient
Though the memory comes to me eventually
Here I am, forever caught up in this mystery
And then
That moment when the fire ignites –

[Refrain]
I felt it happen here tonight
Here, in the Empire of Delight

[Instrumental]

[Outro]
Here, in the Empire of Delight