The precious invention of time Is close as a raincloud The face of laughter The movement of the people From the pub to the disco Our car was made of rusty metal And all your words were truthful Ten minutes at home And the slowest of us was then left To pull shut the door on the warmth of the house And then that old best pursuit Was to brotherly woo each other to town And then sit in the stew And I dreamed that we were at the crossroads In Letterfrack And I can't get desire out of my mind So pleased you knew what I needed That I couldn't get desire out of my mind I saddled my horse at the bar No description so rich as could go half that far
And the burn in my eyes As we left for the war A black photograph in the darkness A candle that no one could see An ounce of your body on my turning hand Turning like wood in the lathe Like clay on the wheel Cutting straight shaves, wasting nothing, so certain An old photograph, an old painting Of a hooker or maybe a dancer Of Irish or Turkish descent Over the bank in the half-lit half-forest Only car light to guide me to marriage Only car light to guide me past Cleggan And to my home And I can't get desire out of my mind So pleased you knew what I wanted That I wouldn't let desire out of my mind