Ballad in the Past
Simon Joyner Lyrics

I want to leave this forsaken place
I wish to depart from this desolate location

Where the wind doesn't reach the lines in my face
Where the breeze fails to blow away the streaks on my face

And the air cannot breathe any dust out of me
And the atmosphere can't cleanse the dirt from within me

Ears burn when you speak and good hearts bleed
My ears turn hot upon hearing you, and my heart suffers

In need
I am in dire need

In need of being freed
In need of liberation

How long has it been since you touched and made me?
Since you last caressed me, how much time has passed?

How near it was then when we were still them?
How close we were when we were still those people?

That blue moon about broke her neck jealously
The moon, so blue, almost broke its neck with jealousy

Just to watch the two new kids swim
Just to witness the two new youngsters swim

Carefully
With caution

We must clean the dust from these things carefully
We have to meticulously clear the grime from these objects

And the ground where we lay it was softer in those days
The surface where we lay was softer in the past

And the words on our tongues were not bitter but young
The expressions on our tongues weren't bitter but inexperienced

So I ate from between your fingers and prayed
I consumed the food from your hand, then prayed

You would not soon forget me when I was gone
You won't forget about me soon when I'm no longer here

Don't leave me
Do not abandon me

I'll bury my memories if you leave
I will hide my recollections if you depart

Now the hour it turns and begins to fold
The time revolves and starts to turn back

While the thieves they scatter and hide their gold
As the thieves disperse and stash their riches

They shake their sand to cover their tracks
They shake the sand to camouflage their traces

And burn all of their old and yellowed maps
And set alight all their aged and faded maps

History
The past

Everything that was mine is lost behind in history
All that belonged to me remains lost in time

In the darkness I've stumbled and fallen down troubled
In the darkness, I've stumbled and encountered setbacks

And when I put my two palms together I didn't feel any better
And when I clasped my palms, I still felt awful

I wish I was good at knocking on wood
I hope I was capable of warding off bad luck

But I know I will never be saved or healed
But I realize that I can't be rescued or cured

How does it feel
How does it seem

To be a shell in a crowd without a cloud?
To appear empty among people without hope?

But were there a bridge I could cross to all the distance I've lost
Suppose there existed a bridge so I could cross all the ground I've abandoned

I wouldn't need these canned words or this caged melody
I wouldn't require these empty phrases or this orderly tune

I would simply return to where a good heart burns
I would easily come back to the place where good hearts thrive

And the wind bends the trees scattering leaves
And the gusts sway the trees and cast off their leaves

In need
I am in dire need

In need of being freed
In need of liberation