Colleen
Joanna Newsom
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Key:
Em D Em I tell it as I best know howEm D Em And that's the way it was told to meEm G Must have once been a thief or a whoreG F Eb B7 Then surely was thrown overboardB7 Where, they sayEm D I came their way from the deepEm D blue seaEm D Em It picked me up and tossed me roundEm D Em I lost my shoes and tore my gownEm I forgot my nameG And drownedG F Then woke up with the surfEb B7 a-pounding;B7 Em D Em It seemed I had been run agroundDEm D Well they took me in and shod my feetA C Bb And taught me prayers for chastityF C Bb And said my name would be Colleen, andDm G A B7 I was blessed among all womenB7 Em D Em To have forgotten everythingEm Em Em D EmEm Em Em D Em [Verse 2]Em D Em And as the weeks and months ensuedEm D Em I tried to make myself of useEm G I tilled and planted, but could not produce--G F Eb Not root, nor leaf, nor flower,B7 nor bean; Lord!Em D Em It seemed I overwatered everythingEm D And I hate the sight of that empty airA C Bb Like stepping for a missing stairF C Bb And falling forth forever blindly:Dm G A B7 Cannot grab hold of anything! NoEm D Em Not I, most blessed among ColleensEm Em Em D EmEm Em Em D Em [Verse 3]Continues after the adEm D Em I dream some nights of a funny seaEm D Em As soft as a newly born babyEm G It cries for me so pitifully!G F And I dive for my child with aEb B7 wildness in meEm D Em And am so sweetly there receivedEm D But last night came a different dream:A C Bb A gray and sloping-shouldered thingF C Said "What's cinched 'round yourBb waist, Colleen?Dm G A B7 Is that my very own baleen?B7 Em D Em No! Have you forgotten everything?"Em Em Em D EmEm Em Em D Em [Verse 4]Em D This morning, 'round the cape atEm dawnEm D Em Some travellers sailed into townEm G With scraps for sale and the saddest songsG F And a book of pictures,Eb B7 leather-bound, thatEm D Showed a whale with a tusk a metreEm longEm D I asked the man who showed it meA C "What is the name of that strangeBb beast?"F C Bb He said its name translated roughly toDm G A B7 Em He-Who-Easily-Can-Curve-Himself-Against-The-SkyD EmD And I am without wordsA C Bb He said "My lady looks perturbedF C Bb (the light is in your eyes, Colleen)."Dm G A B7 I said, "Whatever can you mean?"B7 He leaned in and saidEm D Em "You ain't forgotten everything."Em Em Em D EmEm Em Em D Em [Verse 5]Em Em D EmEm Em D EmEm D Em "You dare to speak a lady's name?"Em D Em He said, "My lady is mistakenEm G I would not speak your name in this place;G F For if I were to try then theEb B7 wind--I swear--Em Would rise, to tear you clean fromD Em me without a trace."Em D "Have you come, then, to rescue me?"A C He laughed and said, "From what,Bb 'colleen'?F C Bb You dried and dressed most willinglyDm G A B7 You corseted, and caught the dread diseaseEm D By which one comes to know suchEm peace."Em D Well, it's true that I came to know such things asA C Bb The laws that govern propertyF C Bb And the herbs to feed the babes that weanDm G A B7 The welting weight for every season;B7 But stillEm D Em I don't know any goddamned "Colleen"Em Em Em D EmEm Em Em D Em [Verse 6]Em D Then dive down there with the lights to leadA C Bb That seem to shine from everything--F C Bb Down to the bottom of the deep blue sea;Dm G A B7 Down where your heart beats so slowEm D And you never in your life haveEm felt so freeD Will you come down there with me?A C Down where our bodies start to seemBb likeF C Bb Artifacts of some strange dreamDm G A B7 Which afterwards you can't decipherEm And so, soon, have forgottenD Em Everything [Outro from "...thing"]Em D A C BbF C BbDm G Am B7Em D A C BbF C BbDm G Am B7Em D A C Bb D