The Willow and Wine

Intro

(Ooh, ooh)

(Ooh, ooh)

Verse 1

I wore my finest silk to watch the empire fall

Standing by the marble pillars in the grandest hall

The brass band is playing a slow refrain

While we pretend we don't feel the rising rain

You held a glass of champagne like a loaded gun

Two golden children chasing down the dying sun

And I was playing a part I did not choose to write

Just a fragile girl in the pale blue light

Pre-Chorus

And the water is cold

And the story is old

But we spin and we spin and we cannot let go

Yes, the current is fast

And we breathe our last

(Hold on, hold on)

Chorus

But we were dancing in the willow and wine

Sinking down together at the end of the line

They will find our slippers by the edge of the lake

With all the promises we made but couldn't keep awake

Oh, the party is over, the curtains must fall

We were the prettiest tragedy of all

(Of all, of all)

Verse 2

The papers will say that we simply lost our minds

Looking for a love that we were never meant to find

I kept your secret locked in a velvet drawer

But the tide keeps knocking at the parlor door

You look so handsome when you're looking at the past

A beautiful illusion that was never built to last

So throw the keys into the deep, dark green

We are the finest actors on a painted screen

Pre-Chorus

And the water is cold

And the story is old

But we spin and we spin and we cannot let go

Yes, the current is fast

And we breathe our last

(Hold on, hold on)

Chorus

But we were dancing in the willow and wine

Sinking down together at the end of the line

They will find our slippers by the edge of the lake

With all the promises we made but couldn't keep awake

Oh, the party is over, the curtains must fall

We were the prettiest tragedy of all

Bridge

If I had met you in another year

Before the wealth and the whispering and the fear

Would we be safe on some quiet country road

Instead of sinking under all this heavy gold?

I hear the sirens call my name from the shore

But I don't want to swim anymore

No, I don't want to swim anymore

(Just let me go)

Breakdown

The band plays on

The lights go dim

We learned to dance

But not to swim

Chorus

And we were dancing in the willow and wine

Sinking down together at the end of the line

They will find our slippers by the edge of the lake

With all the promises we made but couldn't keep awake

Oh, the party is over, the curtains must fall

We were the prettiest tragedy of all

Outro

Dancing in the willow and wine

(Sinking down, sinking down)

At the end of the line

(Willow and wine)

The prettiest tragedy of all

(Ooh, ooh)

The record spins out

And the curtains fall