Yonder Mountain String Band
Lyric guide

Reuben and Cerise

Read Reuben and Cerise lyrics by Yonder Mountain String Band on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

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Page type: lyric reference Artist: Yonder Mountain String Band Canonical path: /yonder-mountain-string-band/reuben-and-cerise Related lyric paths: 6
Lyrics

Reuben and Cerise

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Cerise was brushing her long hair gently down

It was the afternoon of Carnival

As she brushes it gently down

Reuben was strumming his painted mandolin

It was enlaid with a pretty face in jade

Played the Carnival Parade

Cerise was dressing as Pirouette in white

When a fatal vision gripped her tight

Cerise, beware tonight

Reuben, Reuben, tell me truly true

I feel afraid and I don't know why I do

Is there another girl for you

If you could see in my heart

You would know it's true

There is none, Cerise, except for you

Except for you

I swear to it on my very soul

If I lie may I fall down cold

When Reuben played on his painted mandolin

The breeze would stop and listen in

Before going its way again

Masquerade began when nightfall finally woke

Like waves against the bandstand dancers broke

To the painted mandolin

Looking out on the crowd, who is standing there?

Sweet Ruby Claire at Reuben stared

At Reuben stared

She was dressed as Pirouette in red

And her hair hung gently down

The crowd pressed round, Ruby stood as though alone

Reuben's song took on a different tone

And he played it just for her

The song that he played was the Carnival Parade

Each note cut a thread of Cerise's fate

It cut through like a blade

Reuben was playing his painted mandolin

When Ruby froze and turned to stone

For the strings played all alone

If you could see in my heart

You would know it's true

There is none, Cerise, except for you

Except for you

The voice of Cerise from the face of the mandolin

Singing Reuben, Reuben, tell me true

For I have no one but you

If you could see my heart

You would know it's true

There is none, Cerise, except for you

Except for you

I swear to it on my very soul

If I lie, may I fall down cold

Ahoy, old ferryman, riverboat of Charon ride

Please take sweet Cerise to the other side

For my dear Cerise has died

The truth of love an unsung song must tell

The course of love must follow blind

Without a look behind

Reuben walked the streets of New Orleans till dawn

Cerise so lightly in his arms

And her hair hung gently down

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Who performs "Reuben and Cerise"?

Yonder Mountain String Band performs "Reuben and Cerise", and this lyric page sits inside the Yonder Mountain String Band catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "Reuben and Cerise"?

Yes. The related section below points to Goin´across the sea and Suspicious minds with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by Yonder Mountain String Band?

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

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