Steppenwolf
Hawkwind Lyrics

You can see my eyes are lupine
My eyes resemble those of a wolf

The liquid golden fires glare
My eyes shine with a golden, fiery light

My loping walk, my slinking spine
My gait and posture resemble those of a wolf

Are signs that there is something there
My physicality suggests that I possess a wolf-like nature or spirit

The way my nostrils flare for odors
My sense of smell is highly attuned, like that of a wolf

The way my ears prick up for sound
My hearing is highly acute, like that of a wolf

My hair's electrically aware
I am highly sensitive to my surroundings, like a wolf

Tells me things for miles around
My heightened senses allow me to perceive things from great distances

I am a man-wolf, I am a wolf man
I embody characteristics of both humans and wolves

I have half a canine mind
My thinking is influenced by the instinctual nature of wolves

I have half the mind of man
My thinking is influenced by the rational nature of humans

I am neither of one kind
I am a unique hybrid of human and wolf

Maybe it was only an hallucination
Perhaps what I saw was not real

I'm no stranger to such things
I have experienced hallucinations before

I made a thorough investigation
I looked into the matter to determine the truth

The image had a power that clings
The hallucination had a lingering effect on me

To my jaded imagination
My imagination is worn out or lacking in enthusiasm

My brain has found the bells it rings
I have discovered something important or profound

Like a wolf my willful loafing
I am independent and purposeful, like a wolf

My languishing alone in my lair
I enjoy spending time alone, like a wolf in its den

Where you will never hear me laughing
I am not one for frivolity or merriment

I'm half in love with dark and despair
I am attracted to darkness and melancholy

The Moon's a howling, mouth of mercury
The Moon appears to be howling loudly, with a metallic or silver quality

Quicksilver quivering in the sky
The Moon's light shimmers, as though composed of quicksilver

It echoes like a cave of chromium
The Moon's howling reflects back with a metallic resonance

That'll vacuum up my soul when I die
The Moon seems to have the power to suck up or absorb the singer's soul after death

A freak, a fiend, a figment of mind
The singer is an unusual or abnormal creature, perhaps only existing in their mind

A species of the steppes and city
The artist belongs to both rural and urban environments

Dissolving in the slender of this desolation
The artist is fading away or losing themselves in the bleakness of their isolation

The forest has been filled by a fog
The woods are obscured by a dense fog

Exactly a description of my isolation
The fog is an accurate representation of the singer's emotional seclusion

I made a note of it in my log
The artist recorded this observation for future reference or reflection

To the secret of all creation
The artist is searching for the fundamental truth or meaning of existence

I follow my own trail like a dog
The artist forges their own path, much like a dog following a scent

I am a wolf man who walks alone in the gas lamp
The singer is a hybrid of human and wolf, and often wanders the city at night

Shadows of the streets at night
The artist moves through the dimly-lit alleys and lanes of the city

My eyes are convex lenses of ebony embedded in amber
The singer's eyes are dark and deep-set, with an amber-colored iris

The fat bourgeois and his dapple ganger
The wealthy and their identical doubles are irrelevant to the singer

Are buried in their solid glare
The wealthy are lost in their own self-satisfied indifference

Twin specimens of insect set for display
The rich are like insects, trapped and displayed for others to observe

The man in me would kill the wolf
The artist's human side is at odds with their wolf-like nature

The wolf in me would eat the man
The singer's wolf side is also at odds with their human identity

Who despises the striving of common men
The singer has little regard for the goals and ambitions of everyday people

Who sees them at work, at their daily tasks
The artist observes people as they go about their daily lives

At factories and office desk
The artist observes people working in both manual labor and professional settings

Who watches them at evening, elbows lift at tavern tables
The artist also observes people socializing and drinking at local bars and pubs

Heads lolling in song
The people are relaxed and carefree, enjoying simple pleasures

Ich weiss nicht wat ik zagen zollen
A phrase in Dutch that translates to 'I do not know what I should say'

I saw a neon sign reflected in a pool of liquid sky
The singer saw a vibrant sign reflected in a puddle on the street

It was not what I expected I was only walking by
The sign caught the singer's eye even though they were not looking for it

The sign said 'to the magic theater'
The sign advertised a supposedly enchanted theater

It is not for everyone
The theater is exclusive or selective in its audience

It is but for madmen only, the first performance has begun
The theater caters to those who are eccentric or insane, and a show has already started

I looked up to see that notice where the lights were shining from
The singer searched for the source of the sign's illumination

Nothing but blank wall was there
There was nothing to see, only a featureless wall

And their reflection too was gone
The reflection of the lights and sign had disappeared