First Summer After

After all the days of waiting We were suddenly released We filled our pockets with good fortune And headed out east There were rumours on the highways There were shadows of the war It was the first summer after And the last summer before We bought flowers for the wedding From the market in the square We turned up dressed like pirates Just happy to be there Among the ghosts of empire And the legends of the wall It was the first summer after And the last summer before So we listened to the road, we listened to the wind We listened to the bells, we listened to the trees There were ripples on the water and ripples in the sheets And ripples in our hearts and ripples in the heat When the madman stole the keys In the dark dead of the night Our luck we couldn't believe Like a strange shift of the light It's the kindness of other people We have built our lives upon It was the first summer after And the last summer before There were ripples in the water and ripples in the sheets And ripples in our hearts and ripples in the heat And now the people talk in riddles and drift to silence And all the colours they were turning And the land was at rest And the harvest moon was waning As we headed back west The dust rising in the fields Until we couldn't see at all It was the first summer after And the last summer before