Procol Harum: The worm & the tree

Into a great tree a small worm did go It wormed its way inwards and soon it did grow The tree was unhappy but what could it do? It stood there in silence: the worm grew and grew The tree was unhappy but what could it say The worm kept on growing the tree sank away The worm was so greedy it ate more each day And each day it ate more the tree shrank away The worm was so loathsome it felt no disgrace The birds had been silenced the sun shunned that place And all of the forest grew fearful to see What terrible fate lay in store for the tree The worm grew so monstrous its greed knew no bounds The smell was so awful if poisoned the ground And all of the creatures that lived in the wood Were sickened and starving the worm spoiled their food The birds would not sing and the sun could not shine The forest lay dirty and blackened with grime Now down in the forest a young man went riding He passed by the great tree and saw it was dying The leaves and the bark were all rotten and rife The tree had been poisoned and drained for its life He stripped of a piece of the bark of the tree And straight'way he know what the right cure should be The man built a fire and chopped down the tree The worm started screaming it could not break free It trashed and it lashed but it could net break loose Trapped in that tree like a thief in a noose The worm burst asunder a vile smelling crust He hacked it to pieces and burnt it to dust The forest seemed clearer and peacful at last Like after a storm when the rainclouds have passed And although the great tree was fallen and dead They knew from the ashes a new life would spread Yes although the great tree had fallen and died They knew from the ashes a new one would thrive Now years may have passed since the tale I have told Yet the truth of this story does still seem to hold Although from a great tree a small worm may grow That eats it with poison and tortures its soul The worm can be killed yet the tree be not dead For from the roots of the elder a new life will spread