The Silver Lady

When i was a little girl Younger than nine or ten I once spoke to the silver lady But i never saw her again. To me she flew out of the sky She was born riding on the water Her hair blew all around her She was the crazy man's only daughter. I used to see her every day Riding her golden pony Only once did i hear her laugh And it echoed far and lonely. Once i watched the river run And i wandered too far from home There i met the silver lady She was crying, all alone. I said, "lady, why are you crying? If i had wings like you I would be flying over this river And singing like only birds do." Well she threw back her head and she smiled at me Her tears, how they shone in the sun She said, "i have no wings to fly with If i did i would surely be gone. "My brothers have all gone far away To follow their hearts and be free But i am the youngest and my father is aging And all he's got left is me. "I love my father dearly Madman though he may be It would break his heart if i should leave him But this life is killing me. "I feel the ocean pulling me The breezes come and tell me things I want to go with them wherever they go And see what the new morning brings." So she sadly turned away from me So i stumbled my way back home The next day i heard she had taken her horse And gone off to parts unknown. Her father stayed inside his lonely house And he never more came into town He could be seen roaming the riverside And they say that he jumped in and drowned. Long though i waited, she never returned But when i felt a silver breeze I knew she had sent it from wherever she was To tell us that now she was free. --- The Silver Lady - Suzanne Vega