Bill Callahan Follow

When you leave, I go into our room
And lay me down on birds of paradise
It's pretty womanly in here!
Roses noting every move
Nothing goes on except what should
A vast legacy of good

And I don't know if I can uphold it on my own
I don't know if I can uphold it on my own
I don't know if I'm to be trusted
In our room
Alone

A man needs a woman or a man
To be a man
A man needs a woman or a man
To be a man

The light is explicit
Between nine and noon
The light shows a life to things thought dead
LIke oaken legs and fireworks beneath the bed
Fireworks are wasted in the day
I set 'em off anyway
To pass the time 'til you return
I Can't see a thing 'til you return
Maybe a little smoke 'til you return
With fireworks
More fireworks!
And you tell me to wait
Just wait, wait
Just wait

A man needs a woman or a man
To be a man
A man needs a woman or a man
To be a man

And when it's good and dark
The sky a wet black
Like earth has turned
You say OK
Now is time, OK
Like earth has turned

Above us explode a golden lion dripping red
A blue bear spitting white
A spider of fire on a web of sparks
A green dragon with spiralled eyes
Fireworks light the way
Fireworks light the way
Before us lie many a night
Before us lie fireworks in boxes
But only in you
Deep in you
Only in you
Deep in you
Is the fire that lights them

A man needs a woman or a man
To be a man
A man needs a woman or a man
To be a man