Bambara – Ben & Lily lyrics

[Intro]
It was a humid summer
Of diseased mosquitoes and heat strokes
I was working on an assembly line until school started up
And that’s where I met Ben

[Verse 1]
“I’m a Eunuch”, Ben said
“I was in my prime when they cut me down
They were tired of me chasing their daughters
Burning their precious mill to the ground“
“They got me when I stole Mr. Beck’s Corvette
His yapping Shih Tzu riding shotgun
I parked it in the lake and learned to swim
Then I was too worn out to run”
“Met Lily in the Milledgeville Asylum
They fixed her the same as me
She’s my halfwit infertile beauty
They cut us both down like rotten trees“
“But we were blooming,” Ben said
“I broke us out and stole a ring“

[Chorus]
Still see them when I’m sleeping
In dreams, when I’m tired and alone
Lily’s smiling, picking bugs off of the altar
And a rose is pinned to Ben’s blood-soaked tuxedo

[Verse 2]
Last time I saw Ben
Blood rolled down the conveyor belt
He was injured bad but still working
Swearing he’d send some guy to hell
Ben said, “I don’t mind he shot me
If I’m being honest, I deserved it
But what he did to my sweet Lily
She don’t deserve that one bit“
Looking in Ben’s eyes, I knew he meant it
And I realized I was a coward
Next day I heard those cheap apartments
Near the river had burned down
A few people died
And Ben was long gone

[Chorus]
In my dreams they watch the fire
Their twin gold teeth gleam like polished guns
See them on the highway, her toes tapping on a suitcase
In a new corvette Ben’s aiming at the sun

[Outro]
I dream they’re on the run
Always driving towards the sun
I always dream they’re on the run
They’re driving straight for the burning sun