FLie Roses

she said you better
you better stop that dreaming
all the dreams just hurt to me
all night I was holding roses
fingers bleeding on the sheets

when I met her I was so selfish
I hadn’t learned yet how to be a man
she says, ‘If you don’t mind let’s not go all the way too fast
but I’d like you to use your hands’


I said, ‘Joan, come back to me
this isn’t over yet, you see
last night I saw you clear
there was no doubt and no fear’


desire, it’s like a town in the distance
you’re driving there until you’re driving away
mornings inside your body
two kids trying to get somewhere far away

at first our love
it didn’t fit each other
like a coat you try and you’re not sure
but ten years becomes a pretty good answer
the coat’s not perfect, but it’s yours


I said, ‘Joan, come back to me
this isn’t over yet, you see
last night I saw you clear
there was no doubt and no fear’


when you took the past with the present
you took the songs and you took the wind
your memory is in all of my landscapes
like a splinter in my head

so I went outside shot cans in the backyard
tried to paint a picture for the dead
I guess people gotta create or destroy things
or they’ll disappear instead

I drive south
trying to find your answer
in every person that I meet
and every night
every night I just hold roses
fingers bleeding on the sheets


I said, ‘Joan, come back to me
this isn’t over yet, you see
last night I saw you clear
there was no doubt and no fear’