first the words then the music

i don't know what the words mean but they're clear
what matters to me is the music underneath
the love for sound crept on me caught unaware
and now the magic's got me firmly in its teeth
it's what i'd sing i know if only i really could
it sounds so easy but i know the practice's hard
i think of friars chanting each under a hood
or duellers preparing to fight in some stableyard
the applause comes like an oceanic wave
loud but still sharp and shocking as the cold
the music till then had held me like a slave
or like the rhymer in the ancient tale we're told
here in the dark the house is warm and bright
but on the air come memories loaded with candlelight