Lyrics Call Me the Witch - Nicole Atkins, Cotton Mather

Call Me the Witch

It was not his idea
To leave the city after Korea
For a Chinese wedding by a circus tent
All the time at the foundry
Dying in between the boundaries
So he left his baby there to pay the rent
I see him down by the crumbling seawalls
Am I the only one who hears him when he calls?
Call me the witch
Here to paint the town that time forgot
Throwin' the switch
To illuminate the isle of forget-me-nots
She was married to a merchant marine
Who her father thought a philistine
Peddling kerosene in a surplus store
On a night so clear
Seeing that his vessel was near
She walked off the end of the pier, lo and behold
She says «Sister, can you tell my story?
I’m still waiting for some final glory»
Call me the witch
Here to paint the town that time forgot
Throwin' the switch
To illuminate the isle of forget-me-nots
And out in the rain, I saw the face of Stephen Crane
And he says to me, «Thanks for the memories»
Made a vow I can never repeat
To know the shadows on Madison Street
They all know my name and tell me hello
Never said I was their boss
I’m just livin' in the land of the lost
Where the last battalion tossed the coins in the row
You can hide in your candy museum
With the mail-order bride, but the fog is comin' in
Call me the witch
Here to paint the town that time forgot
Throwin' the switch
Here to illuminate the isle of forget-me-nots
Call me the witch
Oh, call me the witch
Ah, call me the witch