In another life
You and I worked West Virginia coal mines
Side by side
Collecting the black dust like sin
The day the main shaft caved in
I caught your eye
As the lantern light guttered out
And the afterdamp swallowed us slowly
I gripped your hand
And caught a glance
Of the next time 'round
In another life
You and I were Red Guards in training
Side by side
We marched on Tiananmen
Turned our own parents in
For h***ding rice
And in the Great Leap forward
We crawled on our bellies and died
A blood orange sky
Gave a cry
Of next time 'round
In another life
I was married at thirteen
You were killed at twenty-one
On a minor battlefield
I was buried beside my second stillborn child
My last thought it seemed
A fever dream
Now we sink into a summer afternoon
Central Park in June
Marveling at the bounty our days contain
And we feel it like the shiver
Of a passing train
That other life
Deep underground
You and I
Side by side
We are the next time 'round
You and I worked West Virginia coal mines
Side by side
Collecting the black dust like sin
The day the main shaft caved in
I caught your eye
As the lantern light guttered out
And the afterdamp swallowed us slowly
I gripped your hand
And caught a glance
Of the next time 'round
In another life
You and I were Red Guards in training
Side by side
We marched on Tiananmen
Turned our own parents in
For h***ding rice
And in the Great Leap forward
We crawled on our bellies and died
A blood orange sky
Gave a cry
Of next time 'round
In another life
I was married at thirteen
You were killed at twenty-one
On a minor battlefield
I was buried beside my second stillborn child
My last thought it seemed
A fever dream
Now we sink into a summer afternoon
Central Park in June
Marveling at the bounty our days contain
And we feel it like the shiver
Of a passing train
That other life
Deep underground
You and I
Side by side
We are the next time 'round