Wednesday, August 22, 2007

183 : 10/10/98 : The Way Young Lovers Do (Canto 5)

A bullish clerk in a poorly tailored suit
behind a polished slab of wood
Gave us a bored look when we queued up to the chute

Said poet go ahead that’s well and good
go slum with the sinner set
But you with the skin still on, he pointed where I stood

Back to the topside, go on, get
We’ve got plenty of agents up top
To put you on the path to me till your time’s met

My companion said this is not our stop
pal so stand aside to the higher will
Your only task is to sort those damned who make the sullen drop

We go our chosen path so bite down on the pill
and let us pass
We went along and out of the chill

Caverns came a blast of sulfurous gas
The furnaces below my partner mused
But first we meet a better class

Of those by perdition abused
This is where all the lost love goes
All all of those who false love used

To achieve some undeserved repose
Yeah the way young lovers do
Turned their backs when the sun rose

Thinking their love sufficient and true
Fell together into the well of souls
Just take a look at these two

She said our hearts were like burning coals
when it first began
We shared all the same dreams and goals

He said we kinda lost track of the plan
and drifted along together
And by and by it all fell outta the pan

And into the fire when it hit stormy weather
sometimes the rock you clutch
is just a tether

And pretty soon we fought too much
And I was staying out till dawn
sometimes any support is a crutch

Lookin’ back on all the good times gone
And long past skies of blue
A man’s mighty quick to make himself a path

So listen to our story ‘cause it could happen to you
Oh the way young lovers do

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

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