[Verse 1] The priest sat in the airport bar He was wearing his father's tie And his eyes looked into my eyes so far Whenever the words ran dry
[Verse 2] Behind the lash and the circles blue He looked as only a priest can, through And his eyes said me and his eyes said you And my eyes said, "Let us try"
[Verse 3] He said, "You wouldn't like it here No, it's no place you should share The roof is ripped with hurricanes And the room is always bare"
[Verse 4] I need the wind and I seek the cold He reached past the wine for my hand to hold And he saw me young and he saw me old And he saw me sitting there
[Verse 5] Then he took his contradictions out And he splashed them on my brow So which words was I then to doubt When choosing what to vow
[Verse 6] Should I choose them all, should I make them mine? The sermons, the hymns and the valentines And he asked for truth and he asked for time And he asked for only now
[Verse 7] Now the trials are trumpet scored Oh will we pass the test? Or just as one loves more and more Will one love less and less?
[Verse 8] Oh come, let's run from this ring we're in Where the Christians clap and the Germans grin Saying let them lose, crying let them win Oh make them both confess
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Genius Annotation1 contributor
This song, like the song “Rainy NIght House” that precedes it on the Ladies of the Canyon album, is often assumed to be about Leonard Cohen. In “Rainy Night House” both his parents are prominently mentioned. The father reappears here with the tie. “Where the Christians clap and the Germans grin” also connects to the lyrics of “Rainy Night House,” where she describes herself as a Sunday school soprano (Cohen is Jewish). In that song she also says “You are a holy man/On the F.M. radio,” so it would make sense to call him the priest here.
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