SINGER: Jeff Wayne

SONG:The Spirit Of Man

I suddenly noticed the body of a parson lying on the ground in a ruined churchyard. i felt unable to leave him to the mercy of the red week, and decided to bury him, decently.
beth: nathaniel! nathaniel!
The parson's eyes flickered open. he was alive!
beth: nathaniel, i saw the church burst into flame, are you all right?
nathaniel: don't touch me!
beth: but it's me, beth! your wife!
nathaniel: no! you're one of them- a devil!
beth: he's delirious!
nathaniel: lies! i saw the devil's sign!
beth: what are you saying?
nathaniel: the green flash in the sky. his demons were here all along, in our hearts and souls, just waiting for a sign from him. and now they're destroying our world!
beth: but they're not devils, they're martians.
journalist: we must leave here.
beth: look, a house still standing, come nathaniel, quickly.
We took shelter in a cottage, and black smoke spread, hemming us in. then a fighting machine came across the field spraying jets of steam that turned the smoke into thick, black dust.
martians: ulla!
beth: dear god, help us!
nathaniel: the voice of the devil is heard in our land!
The spirit of man
nathaniel
listen, do you hear them drawing near
in their search for the sinners?
feeding on the power of our fear
and the evil within us?
in carnation of satan's creation of all that we dread
when the demons arrive those alive will be better off dead
beth
there must be something worth living for
there must be something worth trying for
even something worth dying for
and if one man can stand tall
there must be hope for us all
somewhere, somewhere in the spirit of man
nathaniel
once, there was a time when i believed
without hesitation
that the power of love and truth could conquer all
in the name of salvation
tell me what kind of weapon is love when it comes to the fight?
and just how much protection is truth against all satan's might?
beth
there must be something worth living for
there must be something worth trying for
even some things worth dying for
and if one man could stand tall
there must be some hope for us all
somewhere, somewhere in the spirit of man
beth: people loved you, and trusted you, came to you for help...
nathaniel: didn't i warn them this would happen? be on your guard, i said, for the evil one never rests... i said exorcise the devil! but no, they wouldn't listen, the demons inside them grew and grew, until satan gave his signal and destroyed the world we knew!
beth no nathaniel, oh no nathaniel,
no nathaniel, no, there must be more to life,
there has to be a way that we can
restore to life the love we used to know
(no,) nathaniel, no, there must be more to life,
there has to be a way that we can
restore to life the light that we have lost
nathaniel
now darkness has descended on our land
and all your prayers cannot save us
like fools we've let the devil take command
of the souls that god gave us
to the altar of evil like lambs to the slaughter were led
when the demons arrive the survivors will envy the dead!
beth
there must be something worth living for
nathaniel: no, there is nothing!
beth
there must be something worth trying for
nathaniel: i don't believe it's so!
beth
even something worth dying for
if just one man could stand tall
there would be some hope for us all,
somewhere, somewhere in the spirit of man
nathaniel: forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone! didn't i warn them? pray, i said! destroy the devil, i said! they wouldn't listen! i could have saved the world! but now it's too late... too late!
beth
no nathaniel, oh no nathaniel,
no nathaniel, no, there must be more to life,
there has to be a way that we can
restore to life the love we used to know
(no,) nathaniel, no, there must be more to life,
there has to be a way that we can
restore to life the light that we have lost...
nathaniel: dear god! a cylinder's landed on the house, and we are underneath it, in the pit!
The martians spent the night making a new machine. it was a squat, metallic spider with huge, articulated claws, but it, too, had a hood in which a martian sat. i watched it pursuing some people across a field. it caught them nimbly and tossed them into a great metal basket upon its back.
then, on the ninth day, we saw the martians eating. inside the hood of their new machine they were drawing the fresh, living blood of men and women and injecting it into their own veins.
nathaniel: aaah! it's a sign! i've been given a sign! they must be cast out, and i have been chosen to do it! i must confront them now!
journalist: no, parson, no!
nathaniel: those machines are just demons in another form. i shall destroy them with my prayers, i shall burn them with my holy cross. i shall...
The curious eye of a martian appeared at the window slit, and a menacing claw explored the room. i dragged the parson down to the coal cellar. i heard the martian fumbling at the latch. in the darkness i could see the claw touching things, walls, coal, wood. and then, it touched my boot. i almost shouted. for a time it was still, and then, with a click, it gripped something: the parson! with slow, deliberate movements, his unconscious body was dragged away, and there was nothing i could do to prevent it.