Autumn came around like a drifter to an on-ramp
There were wet leaves floating in gutters full of rain
Took to walking barefoot around town
Melodies from grade-school kicking in my brain

Saw you on the crosstown bus today
You were reading a magazine
I turned my face away
And I shut my eyes tight
Dreamed about the flowers that hide from the light
On dark hillsides in the hidden places

The brakes howled and the bus pulled up near my house
And I got off at the corner
Pulled my sleeves down over my hands, over my hands
And I wished I was someone else
And I wished it was warmer

And when I got home I thought about you
Like a desperate policeman searching for clues
And I almost passed out just then
And I shut my eyes again
Headed for the dark hillsides
In the hidden places

The sun above me and a concrete floor below
Scratch at the chain links maybe bare my teeth for show
Fed twice a day I don't go hungry anymore
Feel in my bones just what the future has in store
I pace in circles so the camera will see
Look hard at my stripes, there'll be no more after me

Laze by the shoreline while the sailors disembark
Scratch out a place to sit and rest down in the dark
Smell something burning downwind just a little ways
They set up camp and sing and sweat and work for days
I have no fear of anyone I'm dumb and wild and free
I am a flightless bird and there'll be no more after me

In Costa Rica in a burrow underground
Climb to the surface, blink my eyes and look around
I'm all alone here as I try my tiny song
Claim my place beneath the sky but I won't be here for long
I sang all night the moon shone on me through the trees
No brothers left and there'll be no more after me

A garter snake passed lazily through the tall yellow-headed sour grass
there was cold, clear water in a tall, clean glass
the sunlight hit the sides and it came through the water tilted
I saw the condensation on your hand
I could feel the glaciers melting

And a warm, soft wind
Covered up everything
On the day your love came screaming through me

You had oranges and lemons in a canvas bag beside you
And seven different kinds of light welling up inside of you
You smeared citrus pulp all over me - it felt okay
Good old East Rutherford three thousand miles away

I felt the warm surge blast my mind
Coming in from behind
On the day your love came screaming through me

In the fresh light of day
I felt something falling away
On the day your love came screaming through me

The building shook with the sound of wild kittens
And I grabbed my scarf and I pulled on my mittens
Took my coat and I went down
To the useless lot on the outskirts of town
The dogs were howling
The wind was blowing
The birds were singing
And I saw you

Your eyes as bright as burning coals
But ask not for whom the bell tolls
'Cause it tolls for those who ask that question
And it tolls for those who answer that question
Dogs were howling
The birds were singing
The wind was blowing
And I saw you

And meanwhile downstairs, I'm setting up shop
A little too proud to let the matter drop
And I can hear you up there, isn't it romantic?
You're huffing and puffing, rearranging
Deck chairs on the Titanic
And I reach for a glass of cool water drawn
From the rivers of Babylon

And meanwhile outside, the stars have come out
And the humid summer air pulls at the ring in my snout
And you stand at your window looking down
And I spread wide my arms
Jump if you wanna jump, jump if you want to
The water's warm
I know
I know 'cause I've been swimming
Blindly along
Through the rivers of Babylon

Dead quiet three hours into the best part of the day
And I, I want to tell you that you look so pretty
But the words come out wrong and the rage gets in the way
Dead silence, you looked at me like you were looking into space
And in space, no one could hear you say good-bye
Down here I shouldn't have to read it on your face

That's not normal
That's not right
That's not very nice
No it isn't

The moon shining down on your body and you look so nice
And I, I want to tell you, but you don't want to hear it
And I know and you don't have to tell me twice
But once would be civil
The moon shining got into my brain, and I had so much to say
But there was dead quiet, and you were silent
Three hours into the best part of the day

And that's not normal
That's not right
That's not very nice
No it isn't

And that's not normal
That's not right
That's not very nice
No it isn't

Come down in the flatland
Show me your shoulder
Wait now where the black hand touches us
We'll both grow older

And the sky above us
And the ground beneath us
And the air around us
And the ocean to the right

Measure your arm length
I can't live without it
I treasure those thirty inches
I want to talk about it.

And the sky above us
And the ground beneath us
And the air around us
And the ocean to the right

Love you in the cold air
Your long hair makes me shiver
Above you I see the sun
Light up every sliver

And the sky above us
And the ground beneath us
And the air around us
And the ocean to the right

And the sky above us
And the ground beneath us
And the air around us
And the ocean to the right