Beeswing
Richard Thompson Lyrics

I was nineteen when I came to town
The singer, Richard Thompson, arrived in town as a young man.

They called in the Summer of Love
He arrived during a cultural movement for which the summer of 1967 is famous, known colloquially as the 'Summer of Love.'

They were burningbabies, burning flags
The country was in the midst of social and political upheaval.

The Hawks against the Doves
This refers to Hawks and Doves as metaphors for war and peace.

I took a job in the STeamie
Richard Thompson found work at a steam laundry.

Down on Cauldrum Street
This specific location is mentioned.

I fell in love with a laundry girl
The singer fell in love with a colleague at the same laundry.

Was working next to me
They worked in close proximity.

She was a rare thing
The woman Richard Thompson loved was unique.

Fine as a beeswing
She was delicate and refined.

So fine a breath of wind might blow her away
She seemed fragile and delicate.

She was a lost child
She had a wildness to her.

She was running wild, she said
The woman was free-spirited and independent.

As long as there's no price on love, I'll stay
She refused to be constrained by the expectations of others.

And you wouldn't want me any other way
The singer expressed his love and acceptance of her just as she was.

Brown hair zig-zag round her face
The woman had distinctive hair.

And a look of half-surprise
She appeared unassuming.

Like a fox caught in the headlights
She was caught off guard.

There was an animal in her eyes
She had a wild nature.

She said, young man, O can't you see
The woman spoke to Richard Thompson.

I'm not the factory kind
She was not the sort of person who could be tied down to a 9-5 job.

If you don't take me out of here
She wanted to leave the town.

I'll surely lose my miind
She felt trapped and desperate.

We busked around the market towns
The couple would sing and play music together in local towns.

And picked fruit down in Kent
They worked on picking fruit in the county of Kent.

And we could tinker lamps and pots
They had a variety of skills between them.

And knives wherever we went
They were resourceful.

And I said that we might settle down
Richard Thompson suggested they should find a home.

Get a few acres dug
He envisioned them as homesteaders.

Fire burning in the hearth
He imagined a cozy home with a fireplace.

And babies on the rug
He expressed a desire to start a family.

She said O man, you foolish man
The woman did not share Richard Thompson's vision.

It surely sounds like hell
She emphatically disagreed with the idea of settling down.

You might be lord of half the world
She acknowledged his success and ambition.

You'll not own me as well
But she was determined to remain independent.

We was camping down the Gower one time
The couple pitched a tent in the Gower Peninsula in South Wales.

The work was pretty good
They were able to find work that paid them enough to survive.

She thought we shouldn't wait for frost
The woman was eager to move on to their next destination.

And I thought maybe we should
Richard Thompson was thinking more long-term.

We were drinking more in those days
There was a sense of carefree abandon in their lifestyle.

And tempers reached a pitch
They experienced conflict.

Like a fool I let her run
Richard Thompson allowed her to leave.

With the rambling itch
She had a desire to explore the world.

Last I hear she's sleeping out
The singer has not seen her in some time.

Back on Derby beat
She may be homeless and living on the streets.

White Horse in her hip pocket
She carried a bottle of white horse whiskey.

And a wolfhound at her feet
She owned a dog breed known as a wolfhound.

And they say she even marriend once
Rumors persist about her life since they parted ways.

A man named Romany Brown
She may have at one point married a man with this name.

But even a Gypsy caravan
The woman was always a free spirit.

Was too much settliing down
She refused to put down roots.

And they say her flower is faded now
She may look worse for wear after years of a hard life.

Hard weather and hard booze
Her lifestyle may have caused some damage.

But maybe that's just hte price you pay
This is the natural outcome of a life spent on the road, free and wild.

For the chains you refuse
She chose a life without ties but also without safety nets.

And I missher more than ever words could say
The love between the singer and the woman endures to this day.

If I could just taste
The singer yearns to experience the wildness of their past again.

All of her wildness now
He wants to seize that spirit while he still can.

If I could hold her in my arms today
He wishes he could have one last moment with her.

Then I wouldn't want her any other way
He wouldn't trade any of their time together for something different.