Once upon a time when the earth was blue
and the cross turned over and the grey stars sighed
I played Etta James and I thought of you
how we dived for love and for wreckage too
how we stamped and sang and waited for lies
once upon a time when the earth was blue.
Why do the songs always come on cue?
Why do the words slither and sigh?
I played Etta James and I thought of you
I was told that a garden only grows rue
when the memory of laughter lies fallow and dry
once upon a time when the earth was blue.
There’ s a house on a hill where the rent is due
it’s the place that the flesh and the fires deny
I played Etta James and I thought of you
here where the bread and the heart balance true
here where the blood and the body cry
once upon a time when the earth was blue
I played Etta James and I thought of you.
Renée
