Inventor's Daughter

I fell for the inventor’s daughter

When I chased my silver dollar

Down the hill and onto her father’s basement porch

I fell for her blurry eyes

When my tongue was numb and my shoes untied

With her hand held closed in the yellow light

On her father’s basement porch

Down came her brother full of angry words

And a fistful of problems yet to be heard

And he delivered to me all that he had learned

About defending when you’re scared

Away she went tucked into his coat

With her head turned back and her cheeks made rose

As I lay there with my eyes half-closed

On her father’s basement porch

I fell for the inventor’s daughter

With a cold washrag and a bloody collar

And a puffy smile and a head raised taller

Than before I took his swing

I fell for her curious eyes

And her friendly hands left open wide

For me to see what’s been inside

Since my coin first ran away

And she is like a stick layed down

And a white flag torn from a wedding gown

In a dress-up box from a childhood town in her father’s memory

And he is like a bulb made bright

That flickers when you just want it to stay light

Every time that he thinks the night is looking his way

I fell for the beggar’s son

In the puddled porch with his shoes undone

And the silver coin that had made him come

Into the yellow light

So come on, come on, come on into the yellow light...