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Realising a form out of stone
Set hands moving
Roan shaped his heart
Through his working hands
Work to mold his passion into clay, like the sun
In his room, his lady
She would dance and sing so completely
So be still he now cries
I have time, oh let clay transform thee so
In the deep cold of night
Winter calls, he cries "Don't deny me!"
For his lady, deep her illness
Time has caught her
And will for all reasons take her
In the still light of dawn, she dies
Helpless hands soul revealing
Like leaves we touch we learn
We once knew the story
As winter calls he will starve
All but to see the stone be life
Now Roan, no more tears
Set to work his strength
So transformed him
Realising a form out of stone, his work
So absorbed him
Could she hear him?
Could she see him?
All aglow was his room dazed in this light
He would touch her
He would hold her
Laughing as they danced
Highest colors touching others
Did her eyes at the turn of the century
Tell me plainly
When we meet, how we'll love, oh let life so transform me
Like leaves we touched we danced
We once knew the story
As autumn called and we both
Remembered all those many years ago
I'm sure we know
Was the sign with a touch
As I kiss your fingers
We walk hands in the sun
Memories when we're young
Love lingers so
Was it sun through the haze
That made all your looks
As warm as moonlight?
As a pearl deep in your eyes
Tears have flown away
All the same light
Did her eyes at the turn of the century
Tell me plainly
When we meet how we'll look
As we smile time will leave me clearly
Like leaves we touch, we see
We will know the story
As autumn calls we'll both remember
All those many years ago
Set hands moving
Roan shaped his heart
Through his working hands
Work to mold his passion into clay, like the sun
In his room, his lady
She would dance and sing so completely
So be still he now cries
I have time, oh let clay transform thee so
In the deep cold of night
Winter calls, he cries "Don't deny me!"
For his lady, deep her illness
Time has caught her
And will for all reasons take her
In the still light of dawn, she dies
Helpless hands soul revealing
Like leaves we touch we learn
We once knew the story
As winter calls he will starve
All but to see the stone be life
Now Roan, no more tears
Set to work his strength
So transformed him
Realising a form out of stone, his work
So absorbed him
Could she hear him?
Could she see him?
All aglow was his room dazed in this light
He would touch her
He would hold her
Laughing as they danced
Highest colors touching others
Did her eyes at the turn of the century
Tell me plainly
When we meet, how we'll love, oh let life so transform me
Like leaves we touched we danced
We once knew the story
As autumn called and we both
Remembered all those many years ago
I'm sure we know
Was the sign with a touch
As I kiss your fingers
We walk hands in the sun
Memories when we're young
Love lingers so
Was it sun through the haze
That made all your looks
As warm as moonlight?
As a pearl deep in your eyes
Tears have flown away
All the same light
Did her eyes at the turn of the century
Tell me plainly
When we meet how we'll look
As we smile time will leave me clearly
Like leaves we touch, we see
We will know the story
As autumn calls we'll both remember
All those many years ago
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This is indeed a song about a master sculptor who loses the Love of his Life to illness. She was clearly an inspiration to him and his life feels empty without her.
He sets about to create a statue that will capture her radiance and beauty and cares for nothing else ("He'll all but starve to see the stone be life").
The song underscores how short our lives can seem; "Like leaves, we touched, we danced, we once knew the story, but Autumn (Death) called"...and leaves fall from the trees in Autumn, some sooner than others.
We often have difficulty letting go of a loved one, which is why Roan decides to Immortalize her in stone.
Also, we rationalize that we will see our departed loved ones when we also die: "Did her eyes at the turn of the century Tell me plainly When we meet, how we'll love, oh let life so transform me" means there was a calmness in her eyes when she was on her deathbed that came from her belief that they would eventually both be reunited again in Death...the phrase "oh let Life so transform me" could also be that Roan is tempted to welcome his own Death to reunite them early, but instead decides to "bring her back to life" through his sculpture.
Again, a very beautiful and moving song about how we can be in such refusal to accept losing a loved one that we will do anything in our power to keep their memory alive.
This song is an interesting part of the album, since other Yes songs are mainly about spiritual views vs. religion and we are most in need of our Spirituality/Religious perspectives to help cope with Death.
Like leaves we touch...because we are all mortal.
@PsYcLONe All the comments are very very good! This is a hauntingly beautiful song lyrically, musically and spiritually! Loved it from first hearing it in 1977. My brother and I loved it too and watched the Keys to Ascension rendition as he was dying from cancer and cried our hearts out 2gether back in 2007. Its hard to let loved ones go but the hope of seeing them again is all we really have for now, thus this song, etc. My all time fave group and I beleive that was Buiford on tympani, Gong. Thanks for sharing your comments and peace be with you!