I fell for the inventor's daughter When I chased my silver dollar Down the hill and onto her father's basement porch I fell for her blurry eyes When my tongue was numb and my shoes untied With her hand held closed in the yellow light On her father's basement porch Down came her brother full of angry words And a fistful of problems yet to be heard And he delivered to me all that he had learned About defending when you're scared Away she went tucked into his coat With her head turned back and her cheeks made rose As I lay there with my eyes half-closed On her father's basement porch I fell for the inventor's daughter With a cold wash rag and a bloody collar And a puffy smile and a head raised taller Than before I took his swing I fell for her curious eyes And her friendly hands left open wide For me to see what's been inside Since my coin first ran away And she is like a stick laid down And a white flag torn from a wedding gown In a dress-up box from a childhood town in her father's memory And he is like a bulb made bright That flickers when you just want it to stay light Every time that he thinks the night is looking his way I fell for the beggar's son In the puddled porch with his shoes undone And the silver coin that had made him come Into the yellow light So come on, come on, come on into the yellow light