John & Mary Pram
The year has passed like a snake on a lawn
You could reach for its tail and in a moment it's gone
Out from the shadows a dream opens wide
Like a light from a star that already has died
The woman held her daughters' hands (a lucky penny in the well)
And sang them songs of distant lands (the ocean in this hollow shell)
The pram cut loose away it floats
Their song will never reach these boats
For eighteen years I have studied the way
But I see no more clear and my hair is still grey
If someone asked me just what I have found
I would point to the heaven, I'd point to the ground
The moonbeams dancing on the lake (the snow fell silent soft and white)
I've heard their sound it's yours to take (a halo 'round the amber light)
The pram cut loose away it floats
Their song will never reach these boats
I sat upon the master's chair to wait
Caught in the midnight sky,
The moon would silver everything:
Head up, eyes straight
The lamplight burning, the staircase is steep
And the children are noisy so no one can sleep
The wind is rising, a train whistle moans
I am clapping my hands and I'm coming back home
One room, one bed, one jar, one bowl (the starlings perched along a wire)
There's not a single house I know (the poachers huddled 'round the fire)
The pram cut loose away it floats
Their song will never reach these boats
The grand dream palace as the hour grew late
Caught in the midnight sky, the moon would silver everything:
Head up eyes straight (a lonely wife lets you get away)
Head up eyes straight (and things won't always be this way)
Head up eyes straight (if you don't like it we won't stay)
Head up
