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lyrics

THE DRUNKARD - CHARLES BAUDELAIRE

My wife is dead, and I am free
Now I can drink both night and day
When I came home without my pay
Her crying upset me horribly
Now I am happy as a king
The air is soft. The sky is clear

Ah, what a lovely spring, this year
I courted her in such a spring
Now I can drink to drown my care
As much wine as her tomb would hold
The tomb where she lies pale and cold
And that will be no small affair

For I have thrown her, body and limb,
In an old well; I even threw
All the loose stones around the brim
On top of her. Good Riddance too!
I asked her in the name of Christ
To whom our wedding vows were told

To be my sweetheart as of old
To come to a forsaken tryst
We had when we were young and gay
That everything might be the same
And she the foolish creature came!
We all have our weak moments eh?

She was attractive still, all right
Though faded, I still lover her more
Than there was rhyme or reason for
I had to end it, come what might
Nobody understands me.
What’s The use of wasting my good breath

Explaining to these stupid sots
The mysteries of love and death
They take their women by routine
These louts - the way they eat and drink
Which one has ever stopped to think
What the word love might really mean

And I will lay me down, I swear
Upon the highroad happily
And sleep like an old dog, be sure
Right where the heavy trucks go by
Loaded with gravel and manure
The wheel can smear my brains out - aye

Or it can break me like a clod
In two, or it can mash me flat
I care about as much for that
As for the long white beard of God

credits

from Broken Soldier: Live at the Valley Forge Remembrance Society's Summer Reading Events, released August 1, 2018

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Broken Soldier Portland, Oregon

Broken Soldier is a one-man band. A fictional duo featuring Jeff Betz and his nameless companion known only as The Soldier.

Together they create works of musical fiction that purport to be Live performances but which are in fact home recordings made in a small studio apartment in Portland, Oregon.

Jeff Betz: Vocals, Guitars and all other instruments and Field Recordings. ... more

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