Divers Lyrics - Divers - Joanna Newsom

The diver is my love 

And I am his, if I am not deceived 

Who takes one breath above for every hour below the sea 

Who gave to me a jewel 

Worth twice this woman's life, though it cost her less 

Than laying at low tide to see her true love phosphoresce 

And in an infinite regress 

Tell me why is the pain of birth 

Lighter borne than the pain of death? 

I can't claim that I loved you first 

But I loved you best 

I know we must abide 

Each by the rules that bind us here: 

The divers and the sailors and the women on the pier 

And how do you choose your form? 

How do you choose your name? How do you choose your life? 

How do you choose the time you must exhale and kick and rise? 

And in an infinite capsize 

Like a boat tearing down the coast 

Double hulls bearing double masts 

I don't know if you loved me most 

But you loved me last 

Recall the word you gave 

To count your way across the depths of this arid world 

Where you will yoke the waves that lay a bed of shining pearls 

I dream it every night 

The ringing of the pail, the motes of sand dislodged, the shucking, quick and bright 

The twinned and cast off shells reveal a single heart of white 

And in an infinite backslide 

Ancient boulders sink past the west 

Like a sword at the bearer's fall 

I can't claim that I knew you best 

But did you know me at all? 

A woman is alive, a woman is alive 

You do not take her for a siren 

An anchor on a stone, alone, unfaceted and fine 

And never will I wed 

I'll hunt the pearl of death to the bottom of my life 

And ever hold my breath 'til I may be the diver's wife 

See how the infinite divides 

And the divers are not to blame 

For the rift spanning distant shores 

You don't know my name 

But I know yours