Two Bells Ringing At Once

(album: Somebody's Knocking - 2019)

I saw a golden ship
Sinking by the light of the moon
I saw a harlequin
Swimming naked in a pool
I missed catching the midnight train

I was a Mennonite
And they forced my face into the dirt
But with my broken teeth
I tore the buttons from my shirt
I heard two bells ringing at once

King David played
His harp into the wind
And when he slept
I hung it on a chestnut tree for him
Death at my back, I outran the seraphim

Upon a wall
I painted a fleur-de-lis
Near the canal
Where the rotting barges sleep
Wandered the banks while a hydra hissed and weeped
I heard two bells ringing at once

Walked a dusty road
Dragging an ancient driving wheel
Met the false and met the fair
Came upon the gallows there
Saw a body hanging, swinging in the cool night air
I heard two bells ringing at once

King David played
A sad and mournful tune
I followed its call
Through April, May, and June
Sorry summertime, all through December too
I felt its sound down to my darkest, deepest root
I heard two bells ringing at once

I heard two bells ringing at once