bluebeard's ex-girlfriend


bluebeard's ex-girlfriend

i cannot tell the truth,
because a fear wells up inside.
like years i can't remember,
when i could have been your bride.

i could sit around and think up words
from conversations gone.
or cry into my beer
and hum snatches of your favorite song.

and all the hills are lovely,
and they smell of fresh-cut grass.
but they're only green in scotland,
and in memories i can't grasp.

do you know who told you first?
do you know how it felt?
did your stomach twist and turn?
did your legs begin to melt?

she's only green in mirrors,
with a voice like a violin,
and she won't cry when you cut her,
'cause her faith is spread too thin.

i cannot tell a lie
because you're still too close to me.
i'm trapped inside this doubt,
but, hell, i'm glad i set you free.

you always knew just how to hurt,
and chose your words like knives.
i wasn't so surprised to learn
you had a basement full of dead wives.

and all their faces lovely,
hiding something you can't know.
but they're only green the first year,
then you have to let them go.

do you know who heard it first?
do you know how he laughed?
and said that he wasn't so shocked,
and made some bad joke about graft?

now she's only pink in pictures;
it's the one place that she'll smile.
she was blue for the autopsy,
and inside the police file.

do you know who saw them first?
do you know how she cried?
and her wails sounded like children,
screaming helpless and tonguetied.

she's only green in mirrors,
with a voice like a violin,
and she won't cry when you cut her,
'cause her faith is spread too thin.

now she's only pink in pictures;
it's the one place that she'll smile.
she was blue for the autopsy,
and inside the police file.

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