This is the title track off the new album and in a video posted to The Lumineers' VEVO account, the lead singer and production team explains that the song is about a taxi driver he met in the Republic of Georgia, “an old lady who told him her life story.”
[Verse 1]
I was Cleopatra, I was young and an actress
When you knelt by my mattress, and asked for my hand
But I was sad you asked it, as I laid in a black dress
With my father in a casket, I had no plans
And I left the footprints, the mud stained on the carpet
And it hardened like my heart did when you left town
But I must admit it, that I would marry you in an instant
Damn your wife, I'd be your mistress just to have you around
[Chorus]
But I was late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life
And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I'll be on time
[Verse 2]
While the church discouraged, any lust that burned within me
Yes my flesh, it was my currency, but I held true
So I drive a taxi, and the traffic distracts me
From the strangers in my backseat, they remind me of you
[Chorus]
But I was late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life
And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I'll be on time
[Bridge]
And the only gifts from my Lord were a birth and a divorce
But I've read this script and the costume fits, so I'll play my part
[Verse 3]
I was Cleopatra, I was taller than the rafters
But that's all in the past now, gone with the wind
Now a nurse in white shoes leads me back to my guestroom
It's a bed and a bathroom
And a place for the end
[Outro]
I won't be late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life
And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I'll be on time
Cleopatra was written by Simone Felice & Jeremiah Fraites & Wesley Schultz.
Cleopatra was produced by Simone Felice.
The Lumineers released Cleopatra on Fri Mar 25 2016.