Nathan La Franeer Lyrics - Mitchell Joni

I hired a coach to take me from confusion to the plane 

And though we shared a common space I know I'll never meet again 

The driver with his eyebrows furrowed in the rear-view mirror 

I read his name and it was plainly written Nathan La Franeer 

I asked him would he hurry 

But we crawled the canyons slowly 

Thru the buyers and the sellers 

Thru the burglar bells and the wishing wells 

With gangs and girly shows 

The ghostly garden grows 

The cars and buses bustled thru the bedlam of the day 

I looked thru window-glass at streets and Nathan grumbled at the grey 

I saw an aging cripple selling Superman balloons 

The city grated thru chrome-plate 

The clock struck slowly half-past-noon 

Thru the tunnel tiled and turning 

Into daylight once again I am escaping 

Once again goodbye 

To symphonies and dirty trees 

With parks and plastic clothes 

The ghostly garden grows 

He asked me for a dollar more 

He cursed me to my face 

He hated everyone who paid to ride 

And share his common space 

I picked my bags up from the curb 

And stumbled to the door 

Another man reached out his hand 

Another hand reached out for more 

And I filled it full of silver 

And I left the fingers counting 

And the sky goes on forever 

Without meter maids and peace parades 

You feed it all your woes 

The ghostly garden grows 

1968 Siquomb Publishing Co. (BMI)