Little Clay Bears

Oh my lover soon to be
I hope I meet you soon don’t you see
I’m lonesome as a snake in a tree
Oh my lover soon to be
There’s smoke all around
But no fire to be found
You could be the sea in which I drown
Oh my lover soon to be
Could my heart
Find your teeth
My ruby heart
In between
Oh my lover soon to be
Could you put your hand in mine
Could you water down my wine
Could you stand with me in line
Oh my lover soon to be
Could you cast a spell on me
With glowing hands and ruby gleam
Could you need me like the water needs the stream
Oh my lover soon to be
Could you name our girl Maxine
Could you hold her in your lap as you swing
Gentle smoke upon your lips when you sing
Oh my lover soon to be

Well, the cemetery singers
Their voices pierce the night
And the whole town is hearing
but they don’t dare to look
For they know the poor souls they took
Their faces are pale by the moon
Like the headstones that they sit upon
And the children are watching
From the tree line’s low light
And I am among them tonight
Well, the cemetery singers
Hang like bats in the bells over town
They live in black clouds that sit still through the day
And at night they return to the graves
Oh at night they return to the graves
Oh at night they return to the graves
And at night they return to the graves

The sun is getting low now
And the violet lamps are turning red
In the clubs beneath the city
Where the vulnerable and voiceless ones are lead
The sun is getting low now
I’m forgetting all the things that you said
Your eyes are crystals in the ground
but you get lonesome when the sun goes down

The sun is in the sea now
And you’re putting on your cheap perfume
The rain is washing cars away but you’ll be dry inside his room
The sun is in the sea now
And his whispers dug a hole in your head
He said you might look pretty in this gown
But you look empty when the sun goes down

You put your jewelry in your pocket
As you’re running through the rain
Your steady hands perform a miracle
As they unhook the chain

Your silver shines a shade of blue
beneath the lightning sky
The nightingale he gave you
Is much too beautiful to die
So you hold her in your palm
You speak a sonnet to the storm
You say it seems the suns been absent
Since the day that I was born
Then you realize you’re still sleeping
On the mortuary floor
You can try and leave this town
you’ll still be empty when the sun goes down
Yes you can try and leave this town
But you’ll be empty when the sun goes down

You sat in the corner with a candle in your hand
And I watched the light dance on your skin
I laid in my bed in the dark
And took it all in
Your ruby eyes shot me
And the blue night bled out
A red bird was born at my end
‘Neath the glass where I live
I’ve got no blood to give away

I’m ruby red and blue
Thinking of you

All the crows that you send
End up dead at my window
All the pictures you take in my head
Have the moon bright above us
And a blue dress that’s blown by the wind
There’s a storm in the distance
That we cannot yet hear
There’s a girl holding on to your hand
She has tears in her eyes
And a fistful of hair once again

I’m ruby red and blue
Thinking of you

There’s a pair of red eyes
In the blue of the night
And they’re shining the shine of your name
There’s a particular picture where the moon is half gone to the rain

I see your head
Laid brightly on the horse’s chest
I know you’ve been singing
To cleanse his aching blood of old regrets
The sky is dark above you
And it’s filling up with hearts you knew
And there’s a star named for you
A star named for you
There’s a pool inside the canyon
Filled with moonlight
And some cold remains
A lifetime ‘neath the water
Blue fingers and a frozen flame
There’s a star named for you
A star named for you