American Idyll

yes, the river knows

Thursday, June 28, 2012

I Must Go Where It's Quiet

FROM CARDENAS BUTTE
Joan Baez: Farewell Angelina
OUTSIDE CLEAR CREEK CANYON
farewell Angelina
the bells of the crown
are being stolen by bandits
I must follow the sound
the triangle tingles
and the trumpets play slow
farewell Angelina
the sky is on fire
and I must go

there’s no need for anger
there’s no need for blame
there’s nothing to prove
everything's still the same
just a table standing empty
by the edge of the sea
means farewell Angelina
the sky is trembling
and I must leave

the jack and the queen
have forsaked the courtyard
fifty-two gypsies
now file past the guards
in the space where the deuce
and the ace once ran wild
farewell Angelina
the sky is folding
I’ll see you in a while

see the cross-eyed pirates
sit perched in the sun
shooting tin cans
with a sawed-off shotgun
and the neighbors they clap
and they cheer with each blast
farewell Angelina
the sky is changing color
and I must leave fast

King Kong, little elves
on the rooftops they dance
Valentino-type tangos
while the makeup man’s hands
shut the eyes of the dead
not to embarrass anyone
farewell Angelina
the sky is embarrassed
and I must be gone

the machine guns are roaring
the puppets heave rocks
and fiends nail time bombs
to the hands of the clocks
call me any name you like
I will never deny it
but farewell Angelina
the sky is erupting
I must go where it’s quiet

--Bob Dylan


BOUCHER RAPID
SERPENTINE CANYON
PILGRIM ABOVE HERMIT CANYON

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