The Swimmer
©1986 Andrew Calhoun, recorded on Hope.
There's a swimmer who's swimming out under the sky,
Who fell from a ship and caught in the eye
Of unseeing nature, he will struggle and try;
It helps him forget about having to die.
A man with a mortgage, a house and a lawn,
Is mowing and working and paying along,
His money is tied up, and his body is bound
To a family and a country, and a hole in the ground.
Good shoes and warm clothes are a comfort to wear,
When the winter winds shriek in an effort to scare
Little children from sleep, to the devil knows where;
Keep walking, keep moving, don't leave yourself there.
This party's a good one, there's hors d'oevres and wine,
Pretty people, witty people, people on and off line;
I want to get married in a purple bow-tie,
To help me forget about having to die.
It's love and it's warfare from rattle to tomb,
And it's both of them calling me back to this room,
Where the curve of your body, and the look in your eye
Make me feel worse and better about having to die.