JOHN AND MARY lyrics - One Step Backward

(John Lombardo/Mary Ramsey)



Stars shining through buildings,

I never could see

When I saw you there talk to the world

I was thinking it was me

A foggy grey runaway, pushing into the crowd

Shutters bang in the night, in the wind

Swollen eyes in the dark open wide

Till they see flowers red

Hang with love from the railings,

Maybe fate all along

Flowers grey

Pressed in glass painted cases

One step backward, I never felt so wrong



Summer nights we would travel,

Neon cities aglow

When you'd tell me the music's too loud,

I would smile, 'yes I know...'

Kids would show off their cities,

Be they ever so proud

Just as a precaution at night

Hold your housekeys like penknives

And see through the dark flowers red

Hang with love from the railings,

Maybe fate all along

Flowers grey

Pressed in glass-painted cases

One step backward, I never felt so wrong

Drawing faces of landscapes

Driving home from afar

After calendar pages turned over

To find out where you are

There are times I still see you

Alone on the stairs

Had I known for the asking

When gods choose to punish

It's likely surprise how they answer our prayers