Visitation At Fort Horn (Springsteen Bruce)

Behind the walls where heat lightning falls On five starred gnat-faced princess The buffalo man shoots at the tin cats Turns and shouts "Children, blow your bridges" On death row halls where dustmen stall Where time's an enemy and a friend At night jackals crawl from the cracks in the walls And salvation is never spoken Morning sickness breaks the garrison gate The cavalry cries for treason The soldier strokes his pony and goes to shine the Captain's sword In this young boy's eyes lie reason And the sergeant bursts in and cries "I caught a prisoner, Captain, A prisoner, what ho !" The Captain looks up and says "Let her go" "But Captain, she patrols the light ships that patrol the sea around The rainbow tips, whose bagpiper wail unbroken She haunts the night and the dawnin' light On her sounds and words your cavalry chokin' " The Captain says "Have no fear, boys For what you hear Because danger can't be spoken " The whirlwind crackles and I hear the rustle of shackles From the stockade door bursts Merlin His eyes red, and swollen, like they've been pushed into the sun His robes aflame and burnin' He jumps a horse, tries to get away But he gets caught in his eyes, tangled in his eyes He falls to the ground, his neck is broken His spirit rises high in the western sky The magician lies an empty token the sergeant walks over and kicks his body And says "Captain, he's dead - What shall we do with him ?" The Captain says "Hang him For though his live moments on this earth are well spent And I can se his body is sure well bent It's magic that must be broken " Now night cradles low The penniless weed plays wrath felt in the Captain's corner With anvil spread wide, the Captain glides Each blow to scare her, not to hurt her She spits "what truth" at the Captain's boots But he holds his rage suspended The sergeant comes in stinkin' of soldier's gin And cries "Captain, the storm she blows unending" Oh and the lightning cracked and the sky was hacked By dagger rain it was torn And the yard was charged into a raging sea And the Captain ran crazily For the first time in his life, in the Captain's heart Fear was born The Captain storms out on the stoop, panic strikes He sees Merlin's hung body stretched by the neck Silhouetted on his door The sergeant screams "Captain, look high, look to the sky !" Some whirling, swirling emission ... But the Captain falls to his knees crying silent pleas 'Cause he knows, he knows, and he thinks to himself "A Magician..."