Kansas - Portrait/The Pinnacle lyrics

He had a thousand ideas You might have heard his name He lived alone with his vision Not looking for fortune or fame Never said too much to speak of He was off on another plane The words that he said were a mystery Nobody's sure he was sane But he knew, he knew more than me or you No one could see his view Oh, where was he going to He was in search of an answer The nature of what we are He was trying to do it a new way He was bright as a star But nobody understood him His numbers are not the way He's lost in the deepest enigma Which no one's unravelled today But he knew, he knew more than me or you No one could see his view Oh, where was he going to And he tried But before he could tell us he died When he left us the people cried Oh, where was he going to? He had a different idea A glimpse of the master plan He could see into the future A true visionary man But there's something he never told us It died when he went away If only he could have been with us No telling what he might say But he knew, he knew more than me or you No one could see his view Oh, where was he going to But he knew You could tell by the picture he drew It was totally something new Oh, where was he going to I've so much to say, and yet I cannot speak Come and do my bidding now for I have grown too weak My weary eyes have seen all that life can give Come to me, O young one, for you I can forgive I stood where no man goes, and conquered demon foes With glory and pa**ion no longer in fashion The hero breaks his blade Cast this shadow long that I may hide my face And in this cloak of darkness the world I will embrace In all that I endure, of one thing I am sure Knowledge and reason change like the season A jester's promenade Lying at my feet I see the offering you bring The mark of Cain is on our faces, borne of suffering O, I long to hear you say it's not been wrong I stand before you now, a riddle in my song The answer is that sweet refrain Unheard it always will remain Beyond our reach, beyond our gain Trapped in life's parade, a king without a crown In this joy of madness, my smile might seem a frown With talons wrought of steel, I tore the heart of doom And in one gleaming moment I saw beyond the tomb I stood where no man goes, above the din I rose Life is amusing though we are losing Drowned in tears of awe.