Lyrics The White Tent the Raft - Jane Siberry

The White Tent the Raft

There’s a red leaf
That falls from a purple tree
It falls it floats down
One red leaf against a clear blue sky
It floats down
Past the marbles in the clearing
Beneath the geese in flight
To the darkening river
In the autumn light
Where it touches down
Oh, like a great bird landing
Tears of autumn
There’s a white tent that sits
In the middle of a raft
That floats down
Floats down the middle of a river
Of a stream floating down
And the tears streaming
From the mind’s eye
Streaming back beyond
The white sheets that flap and fly
Oh, tears of wanting
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
Fists and chests
MANGO CLEARING:
Oh Mango in the clearing
It’s his leg or something
Waiting
Everything would be alright
Watching the trees
Then his toes
Then the trees
Deeper into the jungle
And leaves him there
We turn off the t.
v
Never forget that night
Never heard you
Couldn’t sleep
Hotel window
Get up to those dark peaks
Everything would be
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
Fists and chests
GREAT OVERCOAT CLEARING:
And when it’s not our great overcoat
It’s a grey and yellow dress
So beautiful the bees
They followed you through the mall
To the clearing in the wilderness
And you lay down and I picked you up
And I said you must never leave
Your beautiful hands
Like knitting needles
And I said- it’s Jane, it’s me
She said —
When you go that’s when you go
Lighten up and pass the cup
Fifty bucks and that’s all you got?
Yeah, I love you
There’s a white tent that sits
In the middle of a raft that floats down
Floats down the middle of a river
Of a stream floating down
And the tears streaming
From the mind’s eye
Streaming back beyond the white sheets
That flap and fly
Oh, tears of hardness
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
Fists and chests
OVERKILL CLEARING:
Found the snake in the clearing
And it tried to kill him of course
But then… only after it tried to get away
He said —
Youse the meanest ugliest low-down
And he cursed and swore
Gonna shoot the damn thing
(I'll never let nobody hurt you)
I watched from the raft
And I withdrew my scent
It’s not hard to kill a snake
It’s not hard
It’s not hard to kill a snake
It’s not that hard
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
Fists and chests
ANGRY CLEARING:
What do you mean I love you
Stop saying I love you
I don’t know what you mean anyway
I don’t know what love is and…
You don’t know what love is and…
It doesn’t change anything anyway
Ah… who cares
Who gives a…
Because all I see
Is more hate
More fear
Less light than before me
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
Fists and chests
BIRDS AT DAWN CLEARING:
Get off my branch…
Stick legs -they are not
This is my tree
It’s getting lighter
I’m talking to you
Turn down your radio
Dawn is coming — run!
Every morning when the sun comes up
As loud as he can Get Up!
Get Up!
Yeah, I love you I love you a lot
Lighten up and pass the cup
There’s a thousand white tents
On a thousand rafts all floating down
There’s a thousand fists
And a thousand chests
They come thundering down
And the tears streaming
From a thousand eyes
Streaming back beyond the white sheets
That flap and fly
Oh, tears of hunger
There’s a white tent that blows
In the middle of a raft
That floats down down the middle
Of a long and lonely dream
Or is it lovely?
can’t always tell…
And the clearings pass
Like blowing scarves
The slightly familiar
The slightly apart
And the river never runs dry
Oh, tears of open
The white tent the raft
The white tent the raft
And one red leaf
For my love…
For your love…