The Incredible String Band
Lyric guide

The Actor

Read The Actor lyrics by The Incredible String Band on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

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Page type: lyric reference Artist: The Incredible String Band Canonical path: /the-incredible-string-band/the-actor Related lyric paths: 6
Lyrics

The Actor

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The Actor

The actor leaves the stage with a rose in his hand

He settles in the back seat his thoughts are like fine sand

Driven through the rain swept streets casting a melancholy stare

Upon two enraptured loves kissing without a care

The dreams of an actor spill slowly by

Like the thoughts of a dreamer or the casting of a die

Talking to gay fellows of the follies on which they perch

He saw a lovely lady beneath the arches of a church

Cigarettes in the airless twenties

An estate well filled with dust

In the evening reading Swinburne

Eating mightily with some false lust

But a kiss was what we found

On damp but friendly ground

The lady wore no makeup but she stood like a swan

Thin body of a dancer her dress was quietly torn

Her eyes searched his distant heart that lingered in the ram

But his friends caught his iron gaze and carried it away again

Broken hearted in the loveless twenties

Where a wink was like an embrace

Making love on blue fridays

From across some foggy space

But a kiss was what we found

On damp but friendly ground

Tea was like a mirror a reflection never there

His thoughts upon that ring of love that burned upon her stare

Her eyes her lips her chin her grace the rain upon her hair

Thus it gripped his white gloved heart can anyone be so fair

Untied in the breezy twenties

With a hand held in my arms

Bearing my heart to the hallowed spires

Of this quiet and ancient land

For a kiss was what we found

On damp but friendly ground

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Who performs "The Actor"?

The Incredible String Band performs "The Actor", and this lyric page sits inside the The Incredible String Band catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "The Actor"?

Yes. The related section below points to Antoine and Big Ted with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by The Incredible String Band?

Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through The Incredible String Band's lyric pages.

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