about
Based on the poem of the same name by Arthur Rimbaud. Translation by Paul Schmidt.
lyrics
On the square by spots of lawn,
Where all is orderly, the bourgeoisie,
Down through the trees below,
Where flowers grow,
They strangle in the heat,
To the beat,
Of an army band,
Playing, helmets jiggling,
To "Lady of Spain"
And on the benches in the front,
The dandies parade,
And dangle from watch chains.
By the bandstand,
Railroad Square.
I don't do much,
I just stare.
At backs and backs and shoulders bare,
Necks and tousled hair,
And whats beneath the
Silly dresses they wear.
Retired bourgeoisie blink through their glasses at the noise,
While fat stuffed clerks,
Drag their fat stuffed wives,
While others scurry by,
Fussy elephant boys,
That flap like signs,
With naught to advertise.
And on the bench, grocers poke the sand,
With knob topped canes,
And talk of wars and treaties then move close
Take snuff, then begin
"Which means..."
By the bandstand,
Railroad Square.
I chase the girls in
My messy hair.
Ah, their eyes on me,
See what I can see,
And cannot hide the things
I know that they want.
Flattening his butt on a bench,
A shiny buttoned gut,
Flemish, not French,
Sucks his smelly pipe,
Whose tobacco overflows,
And says "Its real,
imported stuff you know".
While on the green,
Slum kids throw stones,
While fresh faced lads,
Feel sexy at the
Sliding of trombones.
They wink, soldiers,
At babies on pretty
Nurses shoulders.
By the bandstand,
Railroad Square.
I see a shoe then stocking there.
Shoulders backs and hips,
They laugh and whisper it
They think that I am strange
My brutal wishes bite their little lips!
By the bandstand,
Railroad Square.
I don't do much,
I just stare.
At backs and backs and shoulders bare,
Necks and tousled hair,
And whats beneath the
Silly dresses they wear.
credits
from
Pages of Gold,
released November 1, 1998
Sung, written and arranged by Rene Caron.
license
all rights reserved