The Night Comes On

<br>I went down to the place <br><br>Where I knew she lay waiting <br><br>Under the marble and the snow <br><br>I said, Mother I`m frightened <br><br>The thunder and the lightning <br><br>I`ll never come through this alone <br><br>She said, I`ll be with you <br><br>My shawl wrapped around you <br><br>My hand on your head when you go <br><br>And the night came on <br><br>It was very calm <br><br>I wanted the night to go on and on <br><br>But she said, Go back to the World <br><br>We were fighting in Egypt <br><br>When they signed this agreement <br><br>That nobody else had to die <br><br>There was this terrible sound <br><br>And my father went down <br><br>With a terrible wound in his side <br><br>He said, Try to go on <br><br>Take my books, take my gun <br><br>Remember, my son, how they lied <br><br>And the night comes on <br><br>It`s very calm <br><br>I`d like to pretend that my father was wrong <br><br>But you don`t want to lie, not to the young <br><br><br><br>We were locked in this kitchen <br><br>I took to religion <br><br>And I wondered how long she would stay <br><br>I needed so much <br><br>To have nothing to touch <br><br>I`ve always been greedy that way <br><br>But my son and my daughter <br><br>Climbed out of the water <br><br>Crying, Papa, you promised to play <br><br>And they lead me away <br><br>To the great surprise <br><br>It`s Papa, don`t peek, Papa, cover your eyes <br><br>And they hide, they hide in the World <br><br><br><br>Now I look for her always <br><br>I`m lost in this calling <br><br>I`m tied to the threads of some prayer <br><br>Saying, When will she summon me <br><br>When will she come to me <br><br>What must I do to prepare <br><br>When she bends to my longing <br><br>Like a willow, like a fountain <br><br>She stands in the luminous air <br><br>And the night comes on <br><br>And it`s very calm <br><br>I lie in her arms and says, When I`m gone <br><br>I`ll be yours, yours for a song <br><br><br><br>Now the crickets are singing <br><br>The vesper bells ringing <br><br>The cat`s curled asleep in his chair <br><br>I`ll go down to Bill`s Bar <br><br>I can make it that far <br><br>And I`ll see if my friends are still there <br><br>Yes, and here`s to the few <br><br>Who forgive what you do <br><br>And the fewer who don`t even care <br><br>And the night comes on <br><br>It`s very calm <br><br>I want to cross over, I want to go home <br><br>But she says, Go back, go back to the World