The Girl From the Great Divide - Josh Joffen, Traditional

    She was tall and dark and slender, and she said that she loved the Dance
    There was something unspoken between us, but I dared not take the chance
    We were something more than strangers when the hour of parting arrived
    And she went west to her new life, she was bound for the Great Divide

    Word came that she had married, and we all did wish her well
    I swore to profit from my mistake and to heed the tolling bell
    And if a girl should capture my fancy, not to let that girl go by
    And I raised a glass in a sad salute to the girl from the Great Divide

    Now fruits are for the picking, and I picked till I had my fill
    But alone I'd find her photograph, and her face, it stayed with me still
    Till the night in the crowded tavern where I was ready to play
    She stepped up to me smiling, and the years just fell away

    And later, over coffee, we talked of the things we'd done
    She threw back her head in laughter, it was like she never had gone
    And she spoke about her marriage, and the ways of compromise
    And I saw how time had touched her face, and the sadness around her eyes

    We talked the moon down from the sky and I brought her to my home
    And I laid a pallet down on the floor for her to sleep upon
    But in the silence that followed our singing she came into my arms
    And the dawn was sweet and quiet, and the morning sun was warm

    The sea was cold at sunset, and I pressed her to my side
    We could not speak and we looked away, our feelings for to hide
    And her hands were strong, and her lips were soft, and her eyes a smile did pass
    But the rising tide, it drowned out steps, and the sand was smooth as glass

    And her dark hair hid her face from me as I saw her to her train
    That would carry her back to her husband to whom she would explain
    She'd decide if she wanted her freedom, she would write if she wanted to stay
    Now I dream at night of the Great Divide, and her voice so far away

    She was tall and dark and slender, and she said that she loved the Dance

    © 1985 by Josh Joffen (BMI)

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