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

And 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

There were ripples in our hearts and ripples in the heat

And 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 on the water and ripples in the sheets

There were 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 from the fields until we couldn’t see at all

It was the first summer after and the last summer before