A Man Needs A Woman Or A Man To Be A Man – Bill Callahan
By
When we leave, I go into our room And lay me down on birds of paradise It’s pretty womanly in here! Roses noting every move Nothing goes on except what should A vast legacy of good
And I don’t know if I can uphold it on my own I don’t know if I can uphold it on my own I don’t know if I’m to be trusted In our room Alone
A man needs a woman or a man to be a man A man needs a woman or a man to be a man
The light is explicit between nine and noon The light shows a life to things thought dead Like oaken legs and fireworks beneath the bed
Fireworks are wasted in the day I set ’em off anyway To pass the time ’til you return I can’t see a thing ’til you return Maybe a little smoke ’til you return With fireworks More fireworks! With fireworks More fireworks! And you tell me to wait Just wait, wait Just wait
A man needs a woman or a man to be a man A man needs a woman or a man to be a man
And when it’s good and dark The sky a wet black Like earth has turned You say OK Now is time, OK Like earth has turned
Above us explode a golden lion dripping red A blue bear spitting white A spider of fire on a web of sparks A green dragon with spiraled eyes Fireworks light the way Fireworks light the way Fireworks light the way Fireworks light the way
Before us lie many a night Before us lie fireworks in boxes But only in you Deep in you Only in you Deep in you Is the fire that lights them
A man needs a woman or a man to be a man A man needs a woman or a man to be a man