Maria Lyrics - Townes Van Zandt

By townes van zandt 

Well, the diamonds fades quickly when matched to the face of maria 

All the harps they sound empty when she lifts her lips to the sky 

The brown of her skin makes her hair seem a soft golden rainfall 

That spills from the mountains to the bottomless depths of her eyes 

Well, she stands all around me her hands slowly sifting the sunshine 

All the laughter that linger down deep 'neath her smilin' is free 

Well, it spins and it twirls like a hummingbird lost in the morning 

And caresses the south wind and silently sails to the sea 

Ah, the sculpter stands stricken and the artist he throws away his brushes 

When her image comes dancin' the sun she turns sullen with shame 

And the birds they go silent the wind stops his sad mournful singing 

When the trees of the forest start gently to whisper'in her name 

So as softly she wanders I'll desperately follow her footsteps 

And I'll chase after shadows that offer a trace of her sight 

Ah, they promise eternally that she lays hidden within them 

But I find they've decieved me and sadly I bid them goodbye 

So the serpent slide softly away with these moments of laughter 

And the the old washy woman has finish her cleanin' and gone 

But the bamboo hang heavy in the bondage of quicksilver daydreams 

And a lonely child longingly looks for a place to belong