The Hall of the Mountain King #5
Budapest, Hungary
2011
This photo shows perhaps the best view of how close the stone structures were to the cliffs on the Buda Hills. It also shows how dimly lit much of the structure is–which lends to it’s mysterious quality in spite of being bordered by a busy road. It was that mysterious quality that lead me to imagine a castle within the rock. In fact, while not containing an actual castle as far a I know, these hills are riddled with both man-made tunnels and natural caverns. Besides the Church in the Rock I mentioned a few days ago, there is also a complete hospital that was used during World War II.
Of the several different songs about the Hall of the Mountain King out there, I thought the lyrics from the version by a group called Savatage were most closely matched to my imagination. I found their music grating however, so I’ll just post the lyrics below.
Hall of the Mountain King
(Jon Oliva, Paul, O’Neill)
Far away
In a land caught between
Time and space
Where the books of life lay
We fear
This castle of stone
The mountain king roams
All alone in here
But he’s not the only one
Lost inside
Forever hidden from the sun
Madness reigns
In the Hall of the Mountain King
Oh yeah
His deep
Dark eyes
Keep watch on his kingdom
And the mysteries that sleeps safe inside
His hall
His towers of stone
Shall not be overthrown
For eternity
It is guarded by the king
Insanity and the power that it brings
Madness reigns
In the Hall of the Mountain King
Oh yeah
In the Hall of the Mountain King
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Come with me
Stay close by my side
As the darkness of night closes in
Don’t fear
In the thunder, it roars
When the Mountain King calls all his children home
To where I hid him we must run
Refuge here but I was forever on the run
Madness reigns
(my friends)
In the Hall of the Mountain King
Oh yeah
In the Hall of the Mountain King
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah