I'm a boy, young healthy, fit for fighting they say
Send me away, i lay watching the stars, drawing pictures with them in my mind's eye
I stare at the moon, and reflect about my betrothed, I’ll make a good husband one day
An invisible string binds us when we both stare at her, hanging in the summer evening sky
I'm a boy, i should not be here! Glance across and see a man 15 years my senior who has my worldly experience twice plus 1 more year, the fear in his eyes as he gazes silently at an old family portrait tells me all is not well
We walk, the soles of these boots not made for this journey, nor were my legs
Through villages and towns, open fields and forests, women and children stare silently ... where are all the men ?
I'm hungry, given my ration and told make it last, my feet blistered and eyes sore, the anticipation just as exhausting as the treck
Rain, she falls fast, rolls down my helmet and hangs a second to greet me before dripping onto my nose and rolling onto my tongue, she is not rationed yet.
My clothes damp but we must proceed, the song of 280 marching boots in synchronised harmony dance with purpose
A rifle rests over my shoulder, the widow maker, so destructive but yet she feels no remorse
Onto the field we arrive, it's all gone well up to now, the sun awakens, birdsong settles in the open valley, butterflies hover amongst the flowers, gently kissing them goodbye whilst a city of beetles play neath the giant blades of grass that falter beneath our footprint
And from the tranquillity BANG, a single bullet propelled from a stream just north of us charges forth with a single purpose.
One returned by 500 then 500 more, men standing, men fell, the butterflies danced away, the beetles retreat, their homeland desecrated by craters and shells, we can no longer hear the birdsong in the valley
I rise like the sun, pushing myself up to gain position, I’m up, I’m numb, she found me! Everything is white but i know not what’s happening
I stare hard at the men whose feet danced with mine, they're further away than before, their mouths open but not a sound emerges
BANG again, I’m falling, my arms aren't working, my legs fail me, it's colder now
The clouds part and the sun finds me, she strokes this fallen soldier upon his cheek, her warmth is a comfort in the chaos that surrounds me
My head finds its resting place amongst a puddle, i hear the faint sound of water as it creeps into my ear and watch paralysed as the water becomes a beautiful blend of brown and crimson
The sound is fading, a numbness runs from the tip of my toes, and i trace it as it finds passage through my fallen body, it reaches my eyes, my eyes close
I can no longer move, the world is black, and I’m gone .....i was only a boy

The streets on fire, i stare at the liar and he's laughing at me
He could see my desire from the corner of my eye and i want so bad to be free
But you burden me with your beauty, and it's more than i can bare
You just walk around like it's nothing to you while men like me kneel down and stare
We tell you we're not worthy, and beg you please have mercy
You stare at us with that knowing look like you've heard that line before
We're just a line of men with our heads bowed in shame and our knees locked to the floor
In the presence of you


The liar tells me speak the truth and set yourself free
If you know your fingers arent good enough to touch her skin then pick yourself up and leave
There's nothing harder than a broken heart that's been beat before it tried
I smell the apple orchard and autumn leaves as you walk on by
I've seen beauty before, but nothing like this, i've made love before but never felt a kiss, like yours!
They say heros' are made by spending a day then coming back the same
In the presence of you

Slay me, i've been slain
Since i first saw you i've never been the same
Hunt me down i'm yours, ravage me like a pack of dogs to the floor
The liar's still watching from the city building rooftops
Church bells ring, congregations sing, my god she's a beautiful thing
On old man once told me there's no fate cruler than an untimely death
But it could be worse if you came over to me, then walked on by and left
What can a man do when he's a desperate fool with aphrodite in his eye
When every second i live is another second with you still on my mind
So when we're miles away i can still say i'm in the presence of you
I'm such a desperate old fool

If only time stood still
Then nothing would happen in this world you may think that sounds kind of appealing
No babies born, no humans killed

If Billy had forgotten his lunch
Then ran back to pick it up
If he'd have left the house just a minute later
And into the traffic got stuck
Then he wouldn't have been driving his for
At 15:47 down Chahito Boulevard
Where on that saturday morning
Amy Rodriguez she crossed the road

If only time stood still
Then nothing would happen in this world you may think that sounds kind of appealing
No babies born, no humans killed

If Amy hadn't snoozed that morning alarm at 5:45am
Then 2 minutes later she rose up, slipped into her office dress
And if the rain she fell, then the car would've been a better way
To get her to the working station, that Saturday
Billy's phone rang out, his head bowed down
A big old bang on the hood of his car, Amy lay silent, people gather around
Fifteen seconds later she'd have crossed path to path
If the phone didn't ring oh ain't irony a funny thing, we'd still be hearing Any's laugh

Now all the guilt in the world can't change what's happened you live with what you've got
A second here or there can make a lifetime of difference, something i've never really thought

Now Billy's old and can sit on his porch with grandchildren dancing at his feet
But he lives with the thoughts that if he slept 2 minutes longer Amy Rodriguez would still be walking these streets

I was nineteen years old, those nights were getting cold
I was married in a town just north of here, now those warm feelings are growing cold
When I walk the town in the midnight hours and all I see is hope
I think back to myself and what I’ve become, all I have is hope
I see the drink fueled teachers, the mighty preachers, the paupers and the poets
I see the people who know me better than I do, and my god don’t they know it
They whisper you’re hiding now, and don’t be afraid to show it
There’s a girl walking through me, and we breathe the same air
She dances through my thoughts, like a mysterious, dangerous nightmare
Because a ring that binds my finger, keeps me from straying
And in the breaze beneath the church tower, she stood, her red dress swaying

I walk inside, from my thoughts again, I try to hide
I go to church to see, the devil and the priest
The priest grants me his blessings
And the devil throws me out, to my ***** release

I always thought I was a good man, but I no longer know what I think
I was always pretending to do good things, then into the devil I sink
I was too young to marry and now I must carry this gold that weighs me down
Sitting up on the hill watching my release wonder, our tiny town
Maybe if I’d have listened a little more at school
I wouldn’t be such a fool
The taste of chocolate is so good but they say it’s bad
You look so fine, in my minds eye, I must be mad
There’s an apple waiting at home, for me
But I keep tasting chocolate on your lips, that are forever sweet
again I go to church one morning, to confess my sins
Three knocks on the hard-wooden door, the devil lets me in
And you’re waiting outside to see if I’m alright
Still beautiful in the breeze
Ten minutes later the devil throws me to the warm embrace of my ***** release

On those distant stary nights
Couples make love, pull away then fight
Beneath the trees, at the corner of St Thomas square
Boy meets a girl, discover's a whole new world, magic's in the air
Man and wife divorce, then get married again
One hand shake, a kiss on the cheek, maybe we can still be friends

All the lovers rising
From their final resting place
Give me time to grieve for you
before you come back here
I can't do this again

Love games were played, children made
Marriages consecrated, husbands strayed
Back alleys and bike sheds, if only those walls could talk
From up here on this city top roof
Hand in hand below, the lovers walk
Marker pen on the subway wall
All that remains of what once was
Wooden love hearts carved into park benches then over them, a cross


All the lovers rising
From their final resting place
Give me.time to grieve for you
Before you come back here
I can't do this again

I must confess, it gets such a mess when you give your heart to a lover
Who already belongs to another
They live with the lies
Until it eats them inside
And the truth, they can no longer hide
There should be a sign pointing left
Maybe one pointing right
whichever way you turn
stay away, from those lost lovers, tonight.