Vagabond Ways

I know that woman in the mirror, not quite yours and not quite mine,
Who she is can't say for sure, could be from another tide.
She's the queen of sheba, my father's mother,
Her face is low flying africa.
She says to me she is not me,
So tell me, tell me who is she ?
Tell me, tell me who is she ?

You'd think she owns the streets of dublin,
They say she's king of torquay island,
She trades in piracy and sinning
She knows where you go at night.
And when you think you've finally reached her,
She laughs and says, "babe, it's all right".

I know that woman in the mirror, that creature has my thoughts as eyes.
He saw her once and then forgot her, she remembers all his lies,
He spoke in secrets and in german kissed in tongues and slept in sighs.
She says to me she's not my father,
So tell me, tell me who is she ?
Tell me, tell me who is she ?

You'd think she owns the streets of dublin,
They say she's king of torquay island,
She trades in piracy and sinning,
She knows where you go at night.
And when you think you've finally reached her,
She laughs and says, "babe, it's all right".

I know that woman in the mirror, not quite yours and not quite mine
Who she is can't say for sure, could be from another tide.
She's the queen of sheba, my father's mother,
Her face is low flying africa.
She says to me she is not me,
So tell me, tell me who is she ?
Tell me, tell me who is she ?
Tell me, tell me who is she ?
Tell me, tell me who is she ?

It comes as no surprise
Your face filled with lies
Hovers all around me in this room.

Clouds hung with my dismay
A hot bed where we lay
Your every kiss tasting like a tomb.

If time becomes a judge,
If my body holds a grudge
It's just because i needed sanctuary.

Your skin under my nails
My curiosity that failed
To save myself for something that i need.

I don't wanna bleed
Or bruise up black and blue.
Do i deserve these things
All for wanting you ?

Like some virgin with her cloth
I play the goddess coming through
Now i play the parting slave
All for wanting you.

We do things 'cause we must
The law of love and lust
Comes together just like oil on flame.

I looked into your eyes,
You saw me naked for a while,
How d'you like it in my little nest ?

Who was really using who ?
In here the scent of you
Stains the sheets with memory and lust.


When i get back on the street
Tell everybody that i meet
Maybe these aren't scars, they're only rust.

I don't wanna bleed
Or bruise up black and blue
Do i deserve these things
All for wanting you ?

Like some virgin with her cloth
I play the goddess coming through
Now i play the parting slave
All for wanting you.

Well my friends have gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where i used to play
And i'm crazy for love but i'm not coming on
I'm just paying my rent every day
In the tower of song.

I said to hank williams: how lonely does it get ?
Hank williams hasn't answered yet
But i can hear him coughing all night long
About a hundred floors above me
In the tower of song.

I was born like this, i had no choice
I was born with the gift of a golden voice
And twenty-seven angels from the great beyond
They just tied me to this table right here
In the tower of song.

Well you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll
I'm very sorry, baby, doesn't look like me at all
I'm standing near the window where the light is strong
Oh they don't let a woman kill you
Not in the tower of song.

I see you standing on the other side
I don't know how the river got so wide
I loved you baby, way back when
And all the bridges are burning that we might have crossed
But i feel so close to everything that we lost
We'll never , we'll never have to lose it again.

Well i bid you farewell, i don't know when i'll be back
They're moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track
But you'll be hearing from me baby, long after i'm gone
I'll be speaking to you sweetly from a window
In the tower of song.
I'll be speaking to you sweetly from a window
In the tower of song.
I'll be speaking to you sweetly from a window
In the tower of song.

After the ceasefire that they swore would last
She had the bright idea "to hell with the past!"
That's where love lay bleeding licking at its wounds
The times were never changing sticking to their guns
She thought she really meant it, that's the honest truth
She felt it in her marrow, she felt it in her boots
After the ceasefire, after the ceasefire.

The man she married, he was something else
He adored the chaos, smashing all the delft
The man she married, he was something else
He had the sudden notion it's time to call a truth
It's time to lead a quiet life for the love of jeeze
Let's sit down together and engage in talks of peace
After the ceasefire, after the ceasefire.

He was irish catholic, she had english blood
They met in a good restaurant, they gave the secret knot
She ordered fish and lentils, he the kidney stew
She played with bold impulses, wine turned his lips blue
They left in separate taxis to the same address
In case someone was watching, and there they did confess
After the ceasefire, after the ceasefire.

It was all the others' fault, they thought at any rate
After the ceasefire to put an end to hate
She was reaching for her knife, he a fork and spoon,
They sat about devouring the poison of the moon
Shared a fatal cigarette neither one would light
Their breath was flame enough, nobody said goodnight
After the ceasefire, after the ceasefire.

After the ceasefire that they swore would last
They had the strange idea of living in the past
That's where love lies bleeding licking at its wounds
The times are never changing sticking to their guns
They sit about devouring the poison of the moon
The times were never singing the same tune
After the ceasefire
After the ceasefire
After the ceasefire
After the ceasefire

Do you remember me,
Do you remember anything ?
Don't pretend i didn't make you laugh,
File it under fun from the past.

Well, i'm looking 'round the room
Some of the people i've loved.
Guess i remember everything
File it under fun from the past.

I could have been a contender, a contender for your love
I would have given you everything if i only knew how.
I would have given you everything if i only knew how, only knew how,
I could have been a contender, a contender for your love.
File it under fun from the past,
File it under fun from the past.

It was only you, it was always only you.
I never saw what other people bought,
I never cared what they thought.
Well, i'm looking 'round the room, some of the people i've loved,
Guess i remember everything.
File it under fun from the past.

You could have been a contender, a contender for my love.
I would have given you everything if i only knew how, only knew how.
I would have given you everything if i only knew how, only knew how,
You could have been a contender, a contender for my love.
File it under fun from the past,
File it under fun from the past.

Do you remember me,
Do you remember anything ?
Don't pretend that it'll make you laugh,
File it under fun from the past.

Well, i'm looking 'round the room
Some of the people i've loved.
Guess i remember everything,
File it under fun from the past.

I could have been a contender, a contender for your love,
I could have given you everything if i only knew how, only knew how.
I would have given you everything if i only knew how, only knew how,
I could have been a contender, a contender for your love.
File it under fun from the past,
File it under fun from the past.