Candles for the Dead

[Verse 1]
They're lighting candles for the dead
A choir is singing loud
I'll light a candle for the flame
As soon as it goes out

[Verse 2]
Today I met the raconteur
And read his doctrine
He seems to make it very clear
The trouble that we're in

[Verse 3]
I keep your painting on my wall
And watch it gather dust
The universe won't rest until
We are salt and rust

[Verse 4]
And now they speak of family lines
While dressed in black she dances
If you go back far enough
Our limbs were roots and branches

[Verse 5]
So let us try to lose ourselves
For an hour or two
In this Spring of discontent
Where once the arrows flew

[Verse 6]
She'll hold me in her drunken arms
And then we'll rot away
This will be our victory chant
And our last parade

[Verse 7]
Oh, Arthur how do I proceed?
And what about these ghosts?
How can I tell the things I need
From the things I chose?

[Verse 8]
The one who wrote her words in sand
And worshipped entropy
She was the only one I met
Who was really free

[Verse 9]
There's new growth in the garden now
Shrubs have no time for fear
Just a little sun and rain
And then another year

[Verse 10]
Once I dreamt she was a swan
And I, a violin
First she tried to sing a song
And then I tried to swim

[Verse 11]
They're lighting candles for the dead
And your grave is overgrown
I lit a candle for your painting
And then I staggered home