Esther (alternate Version) Lyrics - Phish

It was late one fall night at a fairground near town 

When Esther first saw the Armenian man 

Who groveled toward her and stood by her side 

With a bucket that swung in his hand 

His grin stretched the folds of his pasty white cheeks 

And his lips hurled a dollop of murk on the curb 

And the lights from the rides showed a mischievous sparkle 

That flashed in his hollow eyed stare 

He said, "Little girl, you can chop off my legs 

And then peel off my socks if you want to 

But I'd rather you took this old puppet from me 

That I hold in my pail as we speak" 

And he stood looking down at the innocent girl 

And she stared at the bucket bewildered 

Then he lifted the doll for the young girl to see 

And a giant smile grew on his face 

She saw the doll's eyes and she couldn't resist 

And she thanked the man quickly and ran to the church 

And she burst through the door with puppet held high 

And a hush filled the chapel and the people looked mean 

Esther tried in vain to pacify the mob 

Quibble grew to spat, to wrangle, then to brawl 

The frenzied congregation struggled desperately to fetch 

The pretty puppet snugly nestled deep in Esther's leather sack 

Through the window of the church, a storm began to rage 

And Esther knew the time had come to flee 

She scurried down the aisle toward the doorway in the distance 

And out into the rainstorm where she felt she would be free 

But the wind was blowing harder 

And her skirt began to billow, until finally her feet began to lift 

And she rose above the houses and the people and the chimneys 

And Esther and the doll were set adrift 

Floating higher over the hills 

And the valleys and treetops they'd flutter and glide 

Soaring and turning suspended on air 

With the earth far below them they'd tumble 

And dive through the clouds 

And she began to plummet earthward 

Till she landed in the nasty part of town 

She glanced about the village sure to find the evil men 

Who rob and pillage in the darkest hour of night 

Nervously she fumbled for the pouch that held the puppet on her rump 

Feeling quite outnumbered Esther hid behind 

A nearby pile of lumber, where she waited till the dawn 

'Cause it would have been a blunder 

To succumb to a hoodlum on the prowl 

When the morning came, she wandered through the streets 

Along the chilly lake that lay beside the town 

At last a peaceful moment, but she thought she heard a sound 

It was an angry mob of joggers coming up to knock her down 

As Esther stood and shook her head the joggers were approaching 

And she knew she had no choice left but to swim 

As the frosty water sank its bitter teeth into her hide 

She tried to slide the heavy clothing from her skin 

Naked now she made her way toward the shore 

When suddenly she felt a tiny tugging at her toe 

And the puppet she'd forgotten wrapped its tiny 

Little arms around her ankle and wouldn't let her go 

The waves seemed to open and swallow her whole 

As the doll pulled her down through the eerie green deep 

And the sound of the laughing old man filled her ears 

As she drifted away to a tranquil and motionless sleep