That was the Northern Ocean once and this broken stone
Was a piece of the greatest city then that this world has ever known
The stones piled up in patterned wall and street, window and tower
In the cellars fires burned to feed us with their power
And the greatest power among those gardens and fountains
Was that of the emperor in his palace in the mountains
His ministers and tax collectors said he ruled the sky
That he was the protector of all that reached his eye
Though no one in the villages and no one on the farms
Out to the empire's edges ever felt his mighty arms
He lived among his courtesans, advisors and his priests
Story tellers and jesters attended all his feasts
There were travelers who came to trade and share their stories
Of all the distant lands and fame of heroes and their glories
They spoke of seven wonders of the world all far away
And hearing this the emperor's mood turned mean and gray
He sat in sullen silence until the feast was done
Then stood and with great sense of drama stared at everyone
Until everyone sat waiting with fear in every heart
Each one anticipating, only then did he start
To speak of his empire how it stretched across the land
How this entire world was built as if by his own hand
How peace and wealth and happiness flowed from his palace doors
Like a river sent to bless that city's abundant shores
He asked all those there gathered where there could ever be
Any place they'd rather live or any greater country
And he asked why there should not be every wonder ever made
There in that great city where it's glory be displayed
Then he bowed his head and solemnly he turned and left that hall
And his advisors eagerly began to argue all
Concerned at his displeasure they debated what to do
And the world would change forever by the time they were through
We were called out to our ship and labored night and day
To make it ready for a trip we set out from the bay
To find the seven wonders and return with them aboard
To carry them from their own land and give them to our lord
And we would learn a lesson about power and its place
About the weak who won the fight, the slow who won the race
We sailed out on the endless northern ocean without fear
To find something far away and to bring it near
