Must we go on believing
That the best is yet to come
When we both know for certain
All there ever was is done?
Because whatever we were meant to be
We never had a prayer;
You weren’t where you said you’d be
And I was never there.

I don’t mean to let you have it
Like I did back when in Rome
But the line goes slack for no one
And a soft tongue breaks the bone
But as for holding onto fullness,
As for reaching for my hand
All attempts are vain and useless;
I am never where I am.

So leave your burdens where they lie
With the words you’ve memorized
We said when we knew we’d fly,
And we’d never die,
And it was meant to be,
But it was fantasy;
And it was destiny
That won the duel

My beautiful little fool.
Farewell my love, farewell to you;
My beautiful little fool.

In spite of all that you’ve been taught
By the bull that you were bought,
And everything you think you thought:
You are what you are naught;
And all the days to come,
And all of your wisdom,
Will not save you from
Your heart’s rule

My beautiful little fool.
Farewell my love, farewell to you;
My beautiful little fool.

I know I need to learn to love her now
But how do I know that I know how?
And even if I were to give her all my love
How do I know I'm who she's thinking of?

And even if I learn that she loves me,
For how long will her and I be we?
And, let's suppose, that the fire starts to grow
How long until it starts to lose its glow?

I know I need to learn to love her now
But how can I now that I found out
It's not enough for me to give her all my love;
I am not the one she's thinking of...

Sunday's bell broke the recess
And three times as professed
The gavel rapped before the rooster's caw
The horn was blown the drum was beat
And in the top of every street
We swooned with the wounded at the wall
And we said nothing just our prayers
But if someone's heard something
Nobody cares

And now with the yellow moon
Fixed beyond the clouds that loom
It soon would be a day the devil owned.
High on horseback thru the mud
They came and bathed their hands in blood
From the thumb up to the funny-bone
And we said nothing just our prayers
But if someone's heard something
Nobody cares

And by and by
We will crawl
Before we fly
High above
The middle of
Utopia

Lightning made the thunder ring
Until the dawn when suddenly
Light divided darkness in the east
Thus once more the wheel has turned
And proved itself a viperous worm
That gnaws the bowels of the beast
And we said nothing just our prayers
But if someone's heard something
Nobody cares

And by and by
We will crawl
Before we fly
High above
The middle of
Utopia

Marianne!
Come in my love, where have you been?
Marianne!
Come in out from the rain, madame.

Marianne!
It won't be long, the fog won't last.
Marianne!
So long as all shall come to pass.

But don't tell me you can't remember
That bright night last November,
Marianne!
Won't you be my friend?

Marianne!
Did you foresee this circumstance?
Marianne!
Don't lie! Y'know, I've seen you dance...

And don't tell me you can't remember
That bright night last November,
Marianne!
Won't you be my friend?

Marianne!
We’re right back where it all began.
Marianne!
Tomorrow marks today again.

Here we go again,
Another yarn to spin,
As you once again
Pretend that it's the end.
And that besides your curls,
Your dimples, and your pearls,
You're not like other girls
And you wish you were my world;
And I wish you were all, my darling,
But I don't get to make the rules.

A man is not a man
Because he has a plan,
And just because he can
Counts ev'ry grain of sand.
For as sure as they are numbered
And that one and one is two,
Twelfth & Vine is on his mind
And Mississippi, too;
But I wish you were all, my darling,
But I can't seem to pick and choose.

Each time you come back down the hall ––
(Each time you earn my trust) ––
You confuse what you're supposed to do
With that which you must,
And by the idols of the mind
Young is wasted on the youth,
So to hell with being honest,
For once I'll tell the truth:
That I wish you were all, my darling,
But I wish they were all mine, too.

Brass plays a sad tune
Over the motors of the pontoon.
I was lost; now I'm found
Rescued from
The dog pound

Mama! Mama! Go get a doctor!
Send forty days of rain
And a kettle of copper.
Ride that train! Hurry uptown!
That ol' blue norther's pourin'
At the dog pound

Well, it's hard to be humble
In this land by the sea
But it's so easy here to stumble,
Ain't it hard livin' free?
Hear that train? How sweet the sound...
That Burlington's a-blowin'
At the dog pound

Rally! Rally! Creepin' up the alley!
Rope that heifer! No slack on the dally!
Make her now become a cow
And milk the puppies
At the dog pound

And with the storm well on its way,
Back and forth the breakers sway;
Fools rush in, makin' their rounds,
But the muzzle has 'em puzzled
At the dog pound

I’m no troubadour
Who sketches and scores
A playwright’s lovely romance
But thru the valves of my heart
Song swiftly departs
As time releases its sand
The cracks in cement
I’ve tried to repent
But the rain and cold continue their rants
Till I’m slowly calmed
By the manicured palm
Of the one who has my hand

I’ve traveled down roads
Of dirt and of stone

I fell on when I left the nest
Though the metaphor used
Is often abused
I figured that it was what’s best
Though I’ve often feared
One will never be dear,
I’ll only be under arrest
I’ve finally been freed,
Chains are what I need,
Of mail, my heart they protect

The ocean is vast
So I stuck to the mast,
Handcuffed, overboard I won’t fall
But my crew was in shock
As I picked thru the lock
At the sound of your siren call
Your voice, although pleasing
Was mighty deceiving
For my fate was not why you bawled
You were above the abyss
Hoping I could assist
You, and you’re submerge I could stall

Thru the forest we walked
As you blindly balked
Your grin and the squint of your eyes
Until the leaves were billed
Of their chlorophyl
And the shroud of green withered and died
And a rumbling stampede
Of a single black steed
Proved your wrists were still bound with twine
And the faceless champion
Carved out a canyon
In my heart and my soul was fined

’Neath the street-lamp that glows
As dim as my woes,
My mind won’t allow me to sulk
Under it I have pondered
And learned nothing is softer
Than your lips the gods had to sculpt
I’ve done nothing but croon
Thru cycles of moons
That your touch was one to exalt
But I refuse to desire
A fuel-less fire
So your mem'ry's shut in the vault

Thru midnights of bliss
With restriction dismissed
I cheered and clanked my glass of ale
And though the red in my cheeks
Proved my health was not weak
My heart was green and pale
And I battled demons
With horns and in sequins
And they seemed to always prevail
As conquistadors
Till I stood before
A mana-filled holy grail

A lonely brass chorus
Throughout ev'ry forest
And desert and sea all alike
Played the song of hope
You wrote and composed
When I came back into your sight
Though I was still weary,
Your memory dreary,
A haze in the past moonlight
I was soon convinced
By what you commenced
And my lamp was soon burning bright