the ballad of thom & lucy

Thom stands on the hillside with the sunlight in his hair.
Lucy’s right beside him but he doesn’t know she’s there.
She is just a woman, so easy to forget.
When he leaves her all alone he’ll feel no regret
for those nights she’ll feel alone,
for those nights she’ll feel afraid,
in those beds she never made.

She says, “Kiss me, save me; I’m a girl in need.”
She says, “Kiss me, you could save me, I’m a girl in need, a girl in need.”

Her hair is full of daffodils & her pants are full of stars.
Her body’s made for cheap thrills in the backs of dirty cars.
Thom was her first boy but he sure was not the last.
Her body’s made for other’s joy and she likes to take it fast
on those nights she feels alone,
on those nights she feels afraid
in those beds she never made.

She says “Kiss me, save me; I’m a girl in need.”
She says, “Kiss me, you could save me—I’m a girl in need, a girl in need.”

Thom tells her rape isn’t real & the way that she feels is wrong,
but still she gets down and she kneels because he says, “It won’t take long.”
His days with her are numbered like the stars she knows by name.
She makes his heart beat like thunder,
but he doesn’t want to take the blame
for those nights she’ll feel alone…
and for those nights she’ll feel afraid
in those beds she never made.

She says, “Kiss me, save me; I’m a girl in need.”
She says: “Kiss me, you could save me—I’m a girl in need…a girl in need…”

Thom is in the gutter with Lucy at his side.
He just tried to kiss her, not noticing that she’s died:
her hair is full of lilies & there’s a raven at her eyes.
Thom was only looking for a girl he could define:
instead he found a girl who was alone;
instead he found a girl who was afraid
of those beds she never made.

She said “Kiss me, save me; I’m a girl in need.
Kiss me, you could save me…I could be the girl you need—”

—but he just didn’t see.

I wrote this a couple of years ago deliberately trying to write a song like "Shelter from the Storm" or "Tangled Up In Blue." I'm sure a lot of girls feel treated this way by the boys they know. I just hope Lucy doesn't come across as too "victimy" in this song... sometimes I think alot of my female protagonists (usually the "I") read as whiny and pathetic, but I don't think they are...or at least, I don't want them to be.

Late Nights

This is an example of songwriting from the gut. Or maybe stupid certitude. One of those times when you automatically "hear" a word or phrase being sung over your melody. So, you pursue it and - whatever the hell the word is - you create a story/portrait around it. For me - this happened with "Late Nights" - and the notes are F and C, just for the record. The chords are E flatmaj7/Em79 - courtesy of Roberta Joan Anderson. Thanks Roberta.

LATE NIGHTS

late nights
underneath the stars
one wish
comin true so far

hollow in my hand
gotta meet the man
of slow dissolve
spinning shadow tales
underneath the bridge
as he allows

its the worst in me
the worst in me
is all
I see when meteors
begin to fall

thin lines
runnin through this town
one rail
bending gently down

stenciled on my back
a stubborn one-way track
to hide away
whistling so near
spikes of lead and hammers
here to stay

its the best in me
the best in me
is all inside

as i keep on trading
vultures out for whipporwills
with the branches
holding steady an unseen
murder of crows
waiting to take their turn
in the silent crossfire
that waits for me
indeed

dark doors
lining every street
driveways
snaking in between

scattered heartbeats sound
to check the echoes round
and contemplate
distances between
gates and borders
of these sad estates

its the worst in me
the worst in me
is all
i feel when this town's
pulse begins to fall

old roads
running out and back
circles
no one sems to crack

dancing out of breath
limping in the stretch
but shouldering
one more swing at it
got to think of it
as soldiering

its the best in me
the best in me
is all inside

and i keep on trading
vultures out for whipporwills
with the branches
holding steady an unseen
murder of crows
waiting to take their turn
in the silent crossfire
that waits for me
indeed.

(c)2006DaveDonovan