Shelter From The Storm

(album: Blood On The Tracks - 2023)

'Twas in another lifetime
One of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue
The road was full of mud
Came in from the wilderness
A creature void of form
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you
Shelter from the storm"

And if I pass this way again
You can rest assured
I'll always do my best for her
On that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death and men
Who are fighting to be warm
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you
Shelter from the storm"

Not a word was spoke between us
There was little risk involved
Everything up to that point
Had been left unresolved
Try imagining a place
Where it's always safe and warm
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you
Shelter from the storm"

Suddenly I turned around
And she was standing there
With silver bracelets on her wrists
And flowers in her hair
She walked up to me so gracefully
And took my crown of thorns
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you
Shelter from the storm"

Now there's a wall between us
Something has been lost
I took too much for granted
I got my signals crossed
Just to think that it all began
On a long forgotten morn
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you
Shelter from the storm"

Well, the deputy walks on hard nails
And the preacher rides a mount
Nothing really matters much
It's doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker
He blows a futile horn
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you
Shelter from the storm

I heard newborn babies wailing
Like a mourning dove
And old men with broken teeth
Stranded without love
Do I understand your question, then?
Is it hopeless and forlorn?
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you
Shelter from the storm"

In a little hilltop village
They gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation
And they gave me a lethal dose
I offered up my innocence
And then got repaid with scorn
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you
Shelter from the storm"

Well, I'm living in a foreign country
But I'm bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor's edge
Someday I'll make it mine
If I could only turn back the clock
To when God and her were born
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you
Shelter from the storm"

Now the bonds they are broken
They can be re-tied
By one more journey to the woods
The holes where spirits hide
Its a never-ending battle for a peace
That is always torn
And then she said, "I'll give you
Shelter from the storm"