Elsie

I drive this car through the city every night
There's a quiet I never heard before
And lonely, my sister could not describe
All the good things gone wrong

And there was blood on my teeth
From the long winter here
Bones broke in half
A stain on my shirt
From a couple hours out with the boys
And all good things come to an end
And all memory has left my bones

If I drove straight off this bridge
Only God and my baby would know
I'm sure she'd be laughing, conjuring spring
With some fella who just said the right thing

And there'd be blood on my teeth
From the long winter here
Bones broke in half
A stain on my shirt
From a couple hours out with the boys
And all good things come to an end

See all I can do is think about you
And miss all your kisses like the spring
But if I had a sign
That one day you'd be mine again, oh no
If I could hold you right then
As the chill in this season sputtered and spit and died with

Blood on my teeth
From just what they did here
Snow tumbling down on the ground
And me stumbling out of my heart
Finding cherry blossoms on the hood of my car

My love, my love, you're the sting of the scorpion.
Consider, now, the angels, a little lower than you.
And they twist and they turn, and they hold their breath 'til it's blue.
And they can't turn away like I can, when you're lookin' like you do.

Look at Black Betty, what they're tyin' to you.
You did the very thing, baby, that I asked you not to do.
Now you got yourself caught in this silk spiderweb.
I hope the money fills the holes, can see the roof is caving in.

My heart, my heart, you're the moon and her shining light.
Darkness and voider form, like you were keeping me alive.
And I've been dreaming of poisonings from the venom of my enemies.
Clever as the viper, dear, but gentle as a stampede of stones.

Look at Black Betty, what they're tyin' to you.
You did the very thing, baby, that I asked you not to do.
Now you got yourself caught in this silk spiderweb.
I hope the money fills the holes, can see the roof is caving in.

I've been known to wear a fine black suit and a murder of a tie
I've got miles on my shoes that your brothers can't buy
I've got more than your man, more than even what he wants
I carry each and every ghost of my lovers at once

And they say
Sugar, baby, we've got everything you need
And they say
Sugar, baby, we've got something to see
And they say
Sugar, baby, we've got everything you need
And even what you want

So go tell everybody that you drove your poor lover crazy
And take a good look at just what the night did
There ain't nothing left of your dearly departed
And I just fell to pieces on the night that you said you were leaving
You can't come back to the heart that you left
So go tell everybody that your man is dead

And there's always just these three siren spirits always following me
They just appeared one night in the passenger seat
They tell me all about your sins, salivate from their tongues
And they kiss from their lips but their fingers is so cold to the touch

Sugar, baby, we've got everything you need
Sugar, baby, we've got something to see
Sugar, baby, we've got everything you need
And even what you want

So go tell everybody that you drove your poor lover crazy
And take a good look at just what the night did
There ain't nothing left of your dearly departed
And I just fell to pieces on the night that you said you were leaving
You can't come back to the heart that you left
So go tell everybody that your man is dead

I was a man of great sympathy when I loved you, baby
But tonight all my sympathy is gone
I was a man of great sympathy when I loved you, baby
But tonight all my sympathy is gone
I was a man of great sympathy when I loved you, baby
But tonight all my sympathy is gone
I was a man of great sympathy when I loved you, my baby
But tonight all my sympathy, oh she's gone
I was a man of great sympathy, when I did love you, my baby
But tonight all my sympathy is gone