Lyric

[Verse 1]

When I was a kid, I went down to the rice fields

Diggin’ for snails in the mud

Stickin’ my fingers in dark little holes

Didn’t know nothin’, didn’t need much love

Now I’m older, lookin’ for a red rose

Puttin’ my hand where the sand won’t bloom

If it was an oasis, it’d make good talk

But this is Chigasaki—just a dry-wind room

(Rhyme: mud / love)

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[Chorus]

The things I want keep callin’ far

Through empty nights and borrowed stars

I don’t pull the trigger, I just hold on tight

That alone’s enough for a blue-black night

(Rhyme: far / stars)

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[Verse 2]

When I was a kid, I chased grasshoppers

Down by the river, hat full of dust

Somebody told me carrots would work

I believed ‘em… I guess I must

Now I’m older, still want that red rose

Starin’ down holes in the Pacific floor

If it was a goldfish bowl, we’d laugh it off

But the bowl’s overflowin’—can’t breathe no more

(Rhyme: dust / must)

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[Chorus]

The things I want keep driftin’ out

Like broken waves that don’t turn ‘round

I don’t pull the trigger, I just feel the weight

That’s more than enough for a bluesman’s fate

(Rhyme: out / ‘round)

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[Bridge – Spoken]

I ain’t hurt nobody

Just wore myself thin

That’s how the blues been livin’

Ever since it began

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[Last Chorus]

The things I want turn into shade

Morning comes, I fade away

That red rose dies in borrowed light

Still I walk

This stalker blues tonight

(Rhyme: shade / fade)