JOHN AND MARY lyrics - The Open Window

(John Lombardo/Mary Ramsey)



She walked away with the ring in her hand

The back door open scattered coins on her night stand

The room around her so silent and still

The echoes of the voices lingered from a time

When so long ago and far away

How sweet the fiddle bow did play

The smiles around the table as they talked intimately

When she would leave them her children alone

Their cries and protests made her want to stay back home

In isolation she worked into night

Her hands all calloused by the twisted vines she'd fight

Then she'd think of times so long ago

The dinner embers still aglow

The smiles around the table as they talked intimately

The window was open, the daughter was pale

The steam pipes were broken and her hand

Froze to the rail

When so long ago and far away

How sweet the fiddle bow did play

The smiles around the table as they talked intimately

The grief lay all around her

No food, heat, just war

She looked in the tarnished mirror, her glowing eyes

Traveled to a place

Where they would drink and dance on dusty florid days

The little boy sat and polished his shoes

He'd rub them with a cloth so shined he couldn't lose

A small green vase for his mom he wished to win

To bring the life back to the face that's always been

Full of love and life a sparkle lay

A mother's tear to make her stay

The sky grew dark, the rain clouds pour

She wouldn't see her anymore

So long ago and far away, how sweet the fiddle bow did play

The smiles around the table as they talked intimately

The window was open, the daughter was pale

The steam pipes were broken and her hand

Froze to the rail