Shelter From the Storm: redux

Shelter from the Storm: redux

I don’t really have it so bad

Of much I can’t complain

I’ve walked the roads of mud and dust

And lived through wind and rain

A minstrel’s life up on the stage

For you I will perform

“Play,” she said, “I’ll give ya

Shelter from the storm”

At the start the songs were long

We danced the night away

I’d come and go without a care

Sometimes I could not stay

A haven in a hostile world 

Her hearth secure and warm

“Fire,” she said, “I’ll give ya

Shelter from the storm”

Merriment spins the lovers head

A romance that floats the heart

Infatuation’s music’s loud

But it’s over before it starts

Drunken lust mutes the bells

Ringing love’s alarm

“It’s safe,” she said, “I’ll give ya

Shelter from the storm”

Inside my heart the lightening 

Cracked and thunder roared 

Each day of restless passion

Impaled on celibate’s sword

The lure of a woman’s labyrinth

Blinded men can’t be forewarned

“Take my hand,” she said, “I’ll give ya

Shelter from the storm

I let my fear of loneliness 

Grasp the hand of fate

And stayed the path it guided

Until it was too late 

For her love I sought a refuge 

A harborage anchored calm

“Rest,” she said, “I’ll give ya

Shelter from the storm

A sliver tongue that sizzled 

Magic words of love her spectre

A spell was cast on a fearful soul

In search of a protector

Mesmerized by her recitation

A soothing  peaceful psalm

“Listen,” she said, “I’ll give ya

Shelter from the storm

Chased by demons of life itself 

Too scared to mount a defense

A soul in search of sanctuary 

Praying for some penitence 

The asylum sought has now become

The very thing that’s unreformed

“Kneel,” she said, “I’ll give ya

Shelter from the storm

Only love can sooth the savage beast

Tearing flesh down to the bone

A captive chained till passion’s fed

Mercy’s nourishment finally shown 

Like a mirror looking at itself

What I sought has been transformed

“My bosom Nurse,” she said, “I’ll give ya

Shelter from the storm

But now my only saving grace 

What her retreat first protected from

Is when she kindly does bestow

Her sweet loving in the morn

So trapped I stay until she heals

A heart and spirit worn 

“Someday,” she said, “I’ll give ya

Shelter from the storm

John snelling

05:28:22

Bob Dylan’s - Shelter From the Storm

'Twas in another lifetime

One of toil and blood

When blackness was a virtue

The road was full of mud

I came in from the wilderness

A creature void of form

"Come in," she said, "I'll give ya

Shelter from the storm"

And if I pass this way again

You can rest assured

I'll always do my best for her

On that I give my word

In a world of steel-eyed death and men

Who are fighting to be warm

"Come in," she said, "I'll give ya

Shelter from the storm"

Not a word was spoke between us

There was little risk involved

Everything up to that point

Had been left unresolved

Try imagining a place

Where it's always safe and warm

"Come in," she said, "I'll give ya

Shelter from the storm"

I was burned out from exhaustion

Buried in the hail

Poisoned in the bushes

And blown out on the trail

Hunted like a crocodile

Ravaged in the corn

"Come in," she said, "I'll give ya

Shelter from the storm"

Suddenly I turned around

And she was standing there

With silver bracelets on her wrists

And flowers in her hair

She walked up to me so gracefully

And took my crown of thorns

"Come in," she said, "I'll give ya

Shelter from the storm"

Now there's a wall between us

Something there's been lost

I took too much for granted

I got my signals crossed

Just to think that it all began

On an uneventful morn

"Come in," she said, "I'll give ya

Shelter from the storm"

Well, the deputy walks on hard nails

And the preacher rides a mount

But nothing really matters much

It's doom alone that counts

And the one-eyed undertaker

He blows a futile horn

"Come in," she said, "I'll give ya

Shelter from the storm

I've heard newborn babies wailing

Like a mourning dove

And old men with broken teeth

Stranded without love

Do I understand your question, then

Is it hopeless and forlorn

"Come in," she said, "I'll give ya

Shelter from the storm"

In a little hilltop village

They gambled for my clothes

I bargained for salvation

And she gave me a lethal dose

I offered up my innocence

And I got repaid with scorn

"Come in," she said, "I'll give ya

Shelter from the storm"

Well, I'm living in a foreign country

But I'm bound to cross the line

Beauty walks a razor's edge

Someday I'll make it mine

If I could only turn back the clock

To when God and her were born

"Come in," she said, "I'll give ya

Shelter from the storm"