| Tonight it’s raining and the mountains are misty, reminding me of wintertime
|
| Strange that it’s late spring and the firewood is burning, strange that it’s
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| spring and that
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| In a hotel room across the ocean, I’m not tossing and turning
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| On the end table, the same old vase, filled with oleanders and sweet peas
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| And there’s my boxing encyclopedia from the 1950s, and I just read the old
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| records of Tiger Flowers
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| And Willie Ritchie
|
| And yesterday while I was cutting my lawn, I stumbled on a patch of lemon balm
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| I thought it might be mint, but you told me I was wrong
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| You sniffed it with caution and said that you were sure it was lemon balm
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| Lemon balm
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| Lemon balm
|
| Lemon balm
|
| The cat, she’s asleep, with her there’s few surprises
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| And I’ve just opened The Sun Also Rises
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| Lost in a world of trout fishing in Basque County, Spain
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| Last time I was in Spain it was much like here
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| Mountainous, mystical, and pouring rain
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| I feel there’s so much right in this world, though I’m told I’m wrong
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| While I lay, sipping a bottle of water, and flipping through pages
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| And chewing on lemon balm
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| Lemon balm
|
| Lemon balm
|
| Lemon balm
|
| For some to relax, they recite biblical songs
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| For some to relax, they have somebody read their poems
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| For some to relax, they read William Faulkner’s The Wild Palms
|
| For me, I open any old book and chew on lemon balm
|
| While taking photos of flowers recently, on the side of the road
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| A girl with three guys yelled, «Mark, I love your band!»
|
| I asked her which one of them was her ex
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| Which was her new boyfriend, and which one of them would be her future,
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| rest of her life man?
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| Mike said to Robert, «Come on, say something ironical!»
|
| And that planted a seed as to why, toward them, I was comical
|
| To my question, the four of them devilishly grinned
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| I said, «Nice to meet you all, but I gotta leave, my head is spinning.»
|
| Spinning with what one of the young men said
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| I said, «I'm middle-aged, and your lives are just beginning
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| And I remember when I was young like you and everything seemed so nifty.»
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| He said, «Don't be so down on yourself, you’re the coolest musician we know
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| who’s in their fifties!»
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| Tonight the rain’s falling, the sound of the woodburning stove brings me calm
|
| And tonight and all day is over me, I refuse to be fond
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| To you and I, this night only belongs
|
| I’m at peace drinking water and reading and chewing on lemon balm
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| Lemon balm
|
| Some guys died young in Vietnam from napalm
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| Some may die happy after eating dinner in Milan
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| Some will go out fighting while others may go out without a qualm
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| When I die, I hope it’s a long way away and that I’m next to you, where I belong
|
| And that in my system they found the delicious dishes
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| Made with lemongrass, garlic, chilis, and fish sauces
|
| And I’ll bet, in my system, they find traces of my calming lemon balm
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| Lemon balm
|
| Lemon balm
|
| Lemon balm |