now the bough breaks
the books I read
said you were a fragile kid
just as I imagined it
your story goes:
another nosebleed
roses on the pillowcase
the fever breaks,
and you're back on earth again
you rehearse
in the living room
the nursemaid comes mid-afternoon
to say "you've practiced long enough today"
she takes your bow
it's suppertime
but oh, your only appetite
was fixed on the chaconne you'd hoped to play
so soon you're off
to the academy
the honours
and the accolades
first a darling
then a marvel
when we met
I was still a young girl
but you had changed, already famous
your name was a contagion
you were vain and hard to take
all the same, I was brave
how the tides rise
oh, how the tides rise
I don't suppose you'd tell the truth
so I won't ask you anymore
all the things that we do
to pass the time between the wars
I don't regret a single day
heard your chaconne on every stage
but your love sleeps in a velvet case
so what'd you bring me for?
what'd you bring me for?
yeah, oh
I hear you keep your pretty wife alive
on only brie
they say a dozen years ago
she could have passed for me
she doesn't trust you with the baby
maybe better that way
safe in your study
going grey
you're at your best
when you're alone
above the fray
with your chaconne
now the bells toll
