Calamity John Lyrics by Dar Williams

Calamity John Lyrics

    Come lovers, come loners, remember yourselves
    As lusty tempestuous fools
    When your dream was to conquer an ocean
    From your small secretarial pools

    When you stood at the gulf of unknowing
    When you saw the great tundra of time
    And you cried for the winds to come blowing

    And you called a monsoon from the tides of the moon
    'cause the roads were all dusty and dry

    Come lame dancing lonely tonight
    When what should appear in the distance
    Blown hither and yon it's calamity john
    And hes coming to sweep you away---aye i aye ayy

    He'll tear through the homefront, he'll lift you up laughing
    He'll blow every signpost away
    As the weather report says high drama
    With a five percent chance that he'll stay
    Now the floor starts to rock and the roof floats
    And your friends say he's bad for your health
    And they've warmed you about him on talk shows

    So you told him to pack, hit the road, don't come back
    And he says hey "don't flatter yourself" ....and you say.....

    I am closing my door to the storm
    I am saving myself from its freedom
    I have put the chain on, oh calamity john
    I don't want you to dance me away---aye i aye ayy

    So its seven months later you've bolted your hair back
    You're almost immune to the moon
    And at parties you stay in the kitchen
    Common sense with a big wooden spoon
    All at once you can feel the storm coming
    As you burst out into the old refrain
    To the sound of america drumming

    Call it pain, call it art, call it open your heart
    Let it go let it fly, let it rain(oh yeah)

    He smiles and the clouds turn to black
    With the wind through the flowers come blowing
    The warning bell's on, "what's your name, oh it's john",
    That's such an unusual name---aye i aye ayy

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