A Lover in Berlin

Once I had a lover in Berlin

Said a frail old woman at a table next to minel

His voice was like an ancient violin

And he spoke to me - that voice ... that voice

I believe they call it falling for a man

But this falling made me fly, left me soaring for the sky

There wasn't any sense, there was no plan

But who would trade this passion for the safety of dry land?

Not I

Not he

And we knew we had to travel far away

We knew we had to disappear, where no one else could find us

A sailing ship would take us from the bay

Its sails would fill with an offshore wind to blind us

We gambled our security - the future for the now

Sailed off toward the storm, safety cast aside

We'd gone beyond what reason would allow

But who could tame the tidal wave and tell it where to go

Not I

Not you

Reality then brought it to an end

Said the frail old woman, shaking underneath her hat

A decent set of values is no friend

It's reason now that blinds us, please believe

And passion is not willing to be steered

Purity alone won't fill a ship's wide sails

Life will sometimes bring what we most feared

And who could ever say when to go or when to stay?

Not you

Not we