Lyrics Ben & Lily - Bambara

Ben & Lily

It was a humid summer
Of diseased mosquitoes and heat strokes
I was working on an assembly line 'til school started up
And that’s where I met Ben, yeah
«I'm a Eunuch,» Ben said
«I was in my prime when they cut me down
Yeah, they were tired of me chasing their daughters
And burning their precious mill to the ground
Yeah, they got me when I stole Mr. Beck’s Corvette
His yapping Shih Tzu riding shotgun
Yeah, I parked it in the lake and learned to swim
Then I was too worn out to run
Yeah, met Lily in the Milledgeville Asylum
They fixed her the same as me
Yeah, she’s my halfwit infertile beauty
They cut us both down like rotten trees»
«But we were blooming,» Ben said
«I broke us out and stole a ring»
Still see them when I’m sleeping
In dreams when I’m tired and alone, huh
Lily’s smiling, picking bugs off of the altar
And a rose is pinned to Ben’s blood-soaked tuxedo
Last time I saw Ben
Blood rolled down the conveyor belt
He was injured bad but still working
Swearing he’d send some guy to hell
Ben said, «I don’t mind he shot me
If I’m being honest, I deserved it
But what he did to my sweet Lily
She don’t deserve that one bit»
Looking in Ben’s eyes, I knew he meant it
Then I realized I was a coward
Next day, I heard those cheap apartments
Near the river had burned down
A few people died
And Ben was long gone
Huh, yeah
In my dreams, they watch the fire
Yeah, their twin gold teeth gleam like polished guns, huh
See them on the highway, her toes tapping on a suitcase
In a new Corvette, Ben’s aiming at the sun
Yeah
Yeah, I dream they’re on the run, yeah
Always driving towards the sun, huh
Yeah, I always dream they’re on the run
Yeah, they’re driving straight for the burning sun