Calamity John Lyrics - Singles - Dar Williams

Come lovers, come loners, remember yourselves 

As lusty tempestuous fools 

When your dream was to conquer an ocean 

From your small secretarial pools 

When you stood at the gulf of unknowing 

When you saw the great tundra of time 

And you cried for the winds to come blowing 

And you called a monsoon from the tides of the moon 

'cause the roads were all dusty and dry 

Come lame dancing lonely tonight 

When what should appear in the distance 

Blown hither and yon it's calamity john 

And he's coming to sweep you away---aye I aye ayy 

He'll tear through the homefront, he'll lift you up laughing 

He'll blow every signpost away 

As the weather report says high drama 

With a five percent chance that he'll stay 

Now the floor starts to rock and the roof floats 

And your friends say he's bad for your health 

And they've warmed you about him on talk shows 

So you told him to pack, hit the road, don't come back 

And he says hey "don't flatter yourself" ....and you say..... 

I am closing my door to the storm 

I am saving myself from it's freedom 

I have put the chain on, oh calamity john 

I don't want you to dance me away---aye I aye ayy 

So it's seven months later you've bolted your hair back 

You're almost immune to the moon 

And at parties you stay in the kitchen 

Common sense with a big wooden spoon 

All at once you can feel the storm coming 

As you burst out into the old refrain 

To the sound of america drumming 

Call it pain, call it art, call it open your heart 

Let it go let it fly, let it rain(oh yeah) 

He smiles and the clouds turn to black 

With the wind through the flowers come blowing 

The warning bell's on, "what's your name, oh it's john", 

That's such an unusual name---aye I aye ayy