The Chaconne

Now the bough breaks

The books I read

Said you were a fragile kid

Just as I imagined it

Your story goes:

Another nosebleed

Roses on the pillowcase

The fever breaks

And you're back on earth again

You rehearse

In the living room

The nursemaid comes mid-afternoon

To say "you've practiced long enough today"

She takes your bow

It's suppertime

But oh, your only appetite

Was fixed on the chaconne you'd hoped to play

So soon you're off

To the academy

The honours

And the accolades

First a darling

Then a marvel

When we met

I was still a young girl

But you had changed, already famous

Your name was a contagion

You were vain and hard to take

All the same, I was brazen

How the tides rise

I don't suppose you'd tell the truth

So I won't ask you anymore

All the things that we do

To pass the time between the wars

I don't regret a single day

Heard your chaconne on every stage

But your love sleeps in a velvet case

So what'd you bring me for?

What'd you bring me for?

I hear you keep your pretty wife alive

On only brie

They say a dozen years ago

She could have passed for me

She doesn't trust you with the baby

Maybe better that way

Safe in your study

Going grey

You're at your best

When you're alone

Above the fray

With your chaconne

Now the bells toll