Watch these awful devil things 
drinking belladonna tinctures. 
What made the sky so bright 
and lovely on the day they watched your brilliant mind decay? 

Will they be taking photos at your operation so their clicks 
and flashes upset your condition? 
But a little birdie told me ornithopters 
flap their wings like anybody 
and everybody wants a magic potion stashed away.

What made the sky so bright
and lovely on the day they watched
your brilliant mind decay? 
Scalpels of obsidian

Drinking nightshade on our balcony 
looking over fighting swans
And as that poison settles in our guts 
will she be taking photos at your execution 

so their clicks and flashes make for flares 
and red eye but a little birdie told me ornithopters 
flap their wings because they can 
and everybody wants a place to hide and build a nest

What filled the sky with songs and zeppelins 
on the day they laid your birdie bride to rest 
What made the moon so lame and gloomy on the night 
they took that birdie for a ride

What made her feathers turn to leather 
as the mourners cried and cried
Whatever will they say?
What will they say of your body? 

The apothecaries check their lists for bottles and [bad word] 
And herbalists could never have predicted an anniversary like this
And if it were all up to me I would call it overacting
And if it were all up to me I would make a mess of it. 

Will they be taking photos at your execution 
so their clicks and flashbulbs make for flares and red eye
little birdie told me ornithopters flap their wings because they can

When can this motor get started 
What will they make with these berries 
And when does the nightshade kick in
What will they say of your body?

Hypnotized paralyzed 
staring at that pair of eyes that pierce my soul
I lose control 
Where am I supposed to go? 

You have those wings 
Sew them to me so I can go where I'm supposed to be
When I leave here I'll bring a souvenir
so babe, don't shed a tear

Hold my eyes 
Hold my hand 
Leave a sign so I know where to land
When you call out to me and say

 [bad word] back to me 
I pray 
I'll fly back fast 
Fly back home

So you will not die alone
But I was too late

I love a girl with a sense of adventure
I love a girl with a dynamite temper 
I love a girl with a scar and a car 
and a dress that matches the both of them

I love a girl with a string of a kite 
on her finger wrapped tighter than death feeling lighter than air 
I've seen her sew wings while singing me songs so throaty and gaudy 
Singing me songs about faraway places 

and faces while rocking to sleep in my grandmother's chair 
I'll wake her when setting my eyes on the west and saying
I'm sorry sugar it's cold 

oh honey honey it's too cold
It's so cold in the upper atmosphere
my dear, what will they say of your body?

Once I heard it I just couldn't believe
what you're going to do to me 
and you can take that to the bank
I was born on a house cusp 

and I left everything in the old elm city
a trail of dead feathers to St. Louis
If you could only flap those wings
How does a phantom make friends in the night with a poltergeist? 

It doesn't make much sense to me 
I never remember the last defeat 
It won't take much to change your mind 
You couldn't wait to tap your feet

I couldn't wait to say goodbye
You know the clock is ticking 
and you know you want to make it 
to the big dance baby baby 

We are goblins, witches, vampires 
and we will cut you to pieces right here right now 
You could be thinking of your wife 
Will her bones make their way to the moon? 

But you have demons in your eyes 
a nervous chatter in your teeth
If you could only flap those wings 
you'd fly away from