Live at Five
I dreamt I was pronounced dead on arrival
And buried to ceremonies frighteningly tribal
The drummer boy beat on his empty keg
As the dancers kicked harder each leg after leg
I dreamt that my body lay vacant on straw bales
I felt the earth cake on my skin, hair and nails
Burlap to cover my hollow shell
And white geese at my sides to lead me to hell
And the dancers kept dancing all round my grave
Wasting energy they didn't know was theirs to save
Each drumbeat was deeper and more in the heart
Each speck of dust floating up tore me apart
For I dreamt in my death that I could not dance
And my family went round me in a morbid trance
I looked at the dancers each one my true love
And I wondered if I'd ever again be thought of
I looked to see my dancing place
And felt the calm turn to horror on my pale face
A fine fat bird danced where I'd have been
And the dancers around soon paid for their sin
Fine white geese around a thanksgiving gobbler
And somewhere off in time the monkey chased the cobbler
God save the weasel and pop goes the queen
And suddenly none of them remained to be seen
The dancing geese flew away from the lake
And the gobbler stayed there with nothing at stake
But my body was gone and the burlap unburied
Atop ale five, two doves, one rock and five frogs were married.
And the six o'clock wind blew my world away
The historical oaks have no where to stay
So they packed up their leaves and followed the breeze
And left a gooseless lake without any trees
The drummer boy beat on his empty keg
Nothing to beat with but a fine turkey leg.
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