With Medusa’s head safely tucked away, Perseus rides Pegasus toward home, right when dawn catches him off guard with the most unexpected sight: a princess chained to a rock, about to be devoured by a sea monster. This song is the moment the hero also becomes a rescuer.
There are several real astronomy clues hidden in the lyrics. Two are a pair of twin jewels shining together in the same corner of the sky. Another is the single brightest star of all, the one marking the hero’s chest. And there’s one more that blinks in a really strange way, almost like it has a life of its own, lending its name to the Gorgon’s eyes. Finally, every August, this constellation drops a light show that carries its name.
Lyrics
(Ride the wind!)
(Fly, Pegasus!)
Through the dying midnight, destiny is tearing through the air,
The severed Gorgon safely shrouded from the glare.
Mounted on white starlight, Pegasus takes flight,
A winged stallion cutting through the shadows of the night! (fly so high!)
Carrying the bronze blade, rushing through the starry track,
I struck through bronze reflections, never looking back! (never looking back!)
The gods look from Olympus as the dark begins to yield,
The first rays of the morning strike the edge of my shield!
Pegasus descending as the silver feathers soar,
Carried on the wind toward an unfamiliar shore! (crossing the sky!)
Perseus never falls! Perseus never yields!
Forged in the fury of celestial fields! (burn the sky!)
I tear through the dawn on wings of burning chrome,
A victor of the shadows, riding high and heading home! (heading back home!)
And then the sunrise caught the shore, a beacon through the haze,
A sudden twisted shoreline caught my unsuspecting gaze!
Chained upon the black stone, defenseless to the tide,
Stripped of every royal robe with nowhere left to hide. (so beautiful)
Gleaming like an altar stone touched by morning light,
Golden tears upon her cheek, waking from the night.
My pulse began to race, my warrior’s heart was won:
No beast will touch this jewel in the rising of the sun! (she is mine!)
I bank along the coastal winds and pull the starry reins,
The king and queen are weeping over cold unbroken chains!
Cepheus looks in wonder as the winged stallion dives:
“I come to fight the monster and defend your children’s lives! (take the sky!)
Promise me her hand before the waters rise so high,
And Pegasus will conquer what is crawling from the sea!” (make the vow!)
The weeping king agrees, the morning tide runs red,
I draw the celestial blade, judgment overhead! (ready to strike!)
When this dawn is conquered, and the darkness comes again,
Our names will blaze together where immortal gods remain!
Carved into the zenith, my blade will never rust,
Two royal golden clusters glowing proudly through the dust! (Double Cluster!)
Mirfak at my chest, leading all the northern skies,
While Algol blinks in shadow like the severed Gorgon’s eyes! (The Demon Star!)
And every August night, when my fiery showers reign,
The Perseids will tell how I broke the maiden’s chain!
(Perseids ignite!)
(Light up the dawn!)
Perseus never falls! Perseus never yields!
Forged in the fury of celestial fields! (burn the sky!)
I tear through the dawn on wings of burning chrome,
Andromeda, hold on! I’m bringing you back home! (bringing you home!)
The water churns…
Pegasus, hold steady.
The beast is breaking through the foam.
(Here comes the tide…)
Like every Astronomika Beats song, this one hides more than one astronomical clue. If you already caught them, tell us in the comments what you found. If not, give it another listen.