[Verse 1] Shutter flung back, no more waiting at the latch, "In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore" No bow, no pause, no little curtsy to the floor, That's obeisance skipped completely, didn't tip his hat one bit, Just marched in like he owned the chamber, cool and unimpressed by it [Chorus] Nevermore, Nevermore, That's the word he's landing on, that one word and nothing more, "Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door," Goddess carved in marble whiteness, now she's wearing a bird for a crown, Nevermore, Nevermore, Watch the stately traveler settle down [Verse 2] Pallas means the goddess, the one who's wise and keeps her head, A statue of her sits there watching, cold and pale and widely read, This bird's got mien, a look about him, serious as a judge, Yet his face is so dramatic that the fear starts to budge, "Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling," A sad little grin creeps up on the narrator, charmed despite the chill, Grief and humor sitting shoulder to shoulder, strange and still [Chorus] Nevermore, Nevermore, That's the word he's landing on, that one word and nothing more, "Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door," Goddess carved in marble whiteness, now she's wearing a bird for a crown, Nevermore, Nevermore, Watch the stately traveler settle down [Verse 3] He teases now, no craven coward crouching at his door, Calls him lordly, calls him noble, like some baron from before, "Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" Plutonian means the underworld, where Pluto rules the dead, Like this bird's a weary sailor from the shadow-river's bed, And the answer comes on cue, sharp and certain, nothing hollow, "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore" — one word, and nothing more to follow [Bridge] Used to end on silence, used to end on empty air, Now one word is waiting at the finish, sitting there, Every stanza's closing door swings shut the very same, A single syllable repeating like a solemn, stubborn name [Chorus] Nevermore, Nevermore, That's the word he's landing on, that one word and nothing more, "Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door," Goddess carved in marble whiteness, now she's wearing a bird for a crown, Nevermore, Nevermore, Watch the stately traveler settle down
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