Violets

The territorial drums a waltz on a loaded gun
 The viper flexes, coiling on the vine
 And the irises are sinking in the rain
 Idiots drown the sound of a distant train
 The blind man plays his instrument and sings
 In the Irish Sea the ichthyosaurus swims
 The Reverend Ian Paisley grabs his god and shouts
 The Pope sits in the Vatican and doubts
 The generous American is loosening his belt
 Savouring his childhood in an after-dinner mint
 And the rosebuds are sinking in the rain
 Radios drown the sound of a distant train
 The blind man's bow leaves resin on the strings
 In the Irish Sea the rattlesnake swims
 On the feast day of St Patrick, like the poet Valery
 A soldier pours a glass of blood red wine into the sea
 The sun can never shine through the censorship of clouds
 In this city of open secrets and sudden shrouds
 While the astors are sinking in the rain
 Automatics drown the sound of a distant train
 The blind old man's accordion is torn
 In the Irish sea the adders swarm
 And in a Ballymena farmhouse a widow goes to bits
 And sometimes she remembers him and sometimes she just sits
 And as for the troubles, don't count us out
 Sometimes we're unbiased observers, sometimes louts
 While the tiger lilies crumple in the rain
 Television drowns the sound of a distant train
 The blind man pours the spit from an old trombone
 In the Irish Sea the tapeworms twist and turn
 The moon is a sergeant major who rises and recruits
 In the terraces of Belfast, in the back streets of Beirut
 Sitting on a bed while I watch you from behind
 Skinny as a child, guilt-free, your face unlined
 While the violets are sinking in the rain
 Videos drown the sound of a distant train
 The blind old man has smashed his violin
 In the Irish Sea the vipers return
 Could've been your conscience but I guess that never works
 So treat me like an equal 'til it hurts
 I violetti surrendono per te
 I canali la torre di Babel
 I violini piangono per che
 Io sto morendo in questo hotel
 I violetti surrendono per te
 I canali la torre di Babel
 I violini piangono per che
 Io sto morendo in questo hotel
 La la la la la la la la la la la
 La la la la la la la la la la la
 La la la la la la la la la la la
 Di di di di di di di di di di di
 Di di di di di di di di di di di
 Di di di di di di di di di di di
 Da da da da da da da da da da da
 Da da ...