[Lyric] A Soft Voice Whispers Nothing (Current 93 with Thomas Ligotti)

I heard the sound of something that I could not identify
An approaching racket that caused me to take refuge in a narrow passageway between a pair of high buildings
Nestled in this dark hiding place, I watched the street
And listened as that nameless clattering grew louder
It was a medley of clanging and creaking
Of groaning and croaking
A dull jangle of something unknown as it groped its way through the town
A chaotic parade in honor of some special occasion of delirium

The street that I saw beyond the narrow opening between the two buildings was now entirely empty
The only thing I could glimpse was a blur of high and low structures
Which appeared to quiver slightly as the noise became louder and louder
The parade closing in
Though from which direction I did not know

The formless clamor seemed to envelop everything around me
And then suddenly I could see a passing figure in the street
Dressed in loose white garments
It had an egg shaped head that was completely hairless and as white as paste
A clown of some kind
Who moved in a way that was both casual and laborious
As if it was strolling underwater, or against a strong wind
Tracing strange patterns in the air with bellowed arms and pale hands
It seemed to take forever for this apparition to pass from view
But just before doing so, it turned to peer into the narrow passage where I had secreted myself
And its greasy white face was wearing an expression of bland malevolence

Others followed the lead figure, including a team of ragged men who harnessed like beasts and pulled long whistling ropes
They also moved out of sight, leaving the ropes to waver slightly behind them
The vehicle to which these ropes were attached by means of enormous hooks rolled into the scene
Its great whittle wheels audibly grinding the pavement of the street beneath it
It was a sort of platform with huge wood stakes rising from its perimeter to form the bars of a cage
There was nothing to secure the wooden bars at the top
And so they wobbled with the movement of the parade

Hanging from the bars and rattling against them
Was an array of objects haphazardly tethered by cords and wires and straps of various kinds
I saw masks, shoes, household utensils, and naked dogs
Large bleached bones and the skeletons of small animals
Bottles of colored glass
The head of a dog with a rusty chain wrapped several times around its neck
And sundry scraps of debris, and other things I could not name
All knocking together in a wild percussion

I watched and listened as that ludicrous vehicle passed by in the street
Nothing else followed it
And the enigmatic parade seemed to be at an end now
Merely a delirious noise fading into the distance