They built the pyramids, toiled with tons of stone
Irrigated deserts, built giant golden thrones
Built palaces in India and a dome on the moon
Illustrated ceilings, praised God with strange choirs
Fed the five thousand, built cities of spires
Felt the pull of science unravel in their minds
Charted celestial bodies and were punished for their finds
Conquered snow-peaked mountains, drove jungles to retreat
Were drowned in vicious rapids and were heralded for their feats

Fantasized in Babylon, built a home in space
Scaled the walls of China against all human odds
Won battles without hope and saw men turned into gods


Still they hide their faces well unbetrayed by Heaven or Hell
Only traces to be found although their history resounds
Disconnected they displayed all the discoveries they made
And now they wander round the earth beyond the realms of death or birth
If you look you'll see them there like clouds hanging in the air
And they said the earth was flat, sailed off the world into a vat
Turned the planets into toys then played marbles like small boys
Invented love, invented hate, hung them off the arms of fate
Hear them whisper hear them speak, seems they found what we still seek

Writer : STEVEN KILBEY, TIM POWLES, MARTY WILSON-PIPER
Copyright : Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group