Last Year's Man

[Verse 1]

The rain falls down on last year's man

That's a Jew's harp on the table, that's a crayon in his hand

And the corners of the blueprint are ruined since they rolled

Far past the stems of thumbtacks that still throw shadows on the wood

And the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend

And all the rain falls down amen on the works of last year's man

[Verse 2]

I met a lady, she was playing with her soldiers in the dark

Oh, one by one she had to tell them that her name was Joan of Arc

I was in that army, yes I stayed a little while

I want to thank you, Joan of Arc, for treating me so well

And though I wear a uniform, I was not born to fight

All these wounded boys you lie beside, goodnight, my friends, goodnight

[Verse 3]

I came upon a wedding that old families had contrived

Bethlehem the bridegroom, Babylon the bride

Great Babylon was naked, oh she stood there trembling for me

And Bethlehem inflamed us both like the shy one at some orgy

And when we fell together all our flesh was like a veil

That I had to draw aside to see the serpent eat its tail

[Verse 4]

Some women wait for Jesus, and some women wait for Cain

So I hang upon my altar and I hoist my axe again

And I take the one who finds me back to where it all began

When Jesus was the honeymoon and Cain was just the man

And we read from pleasant Bibles that are bound in blood and skin

That the wilderness is gathering all its children back again

[Verse 5]

The rain falls down on last year's man

An hour has gone by and he has not moved his hand

But everything will happen if he only gives the word

The lovers will rise up and the mountains touch the ground

But the skylight is like skin for a drum I'll never mend

And all the rain falls down, amen, on the works of last year's man