Intro :
It' s only when the high winds blow that I wi sh my hair was long
Sai ling through the autumn leaves sing ing an a ncien t song
Or falling in love in the streets at night at the e dge of a local square
It's only that I'm here tonigh t think ing I was there
The re are high winds on the pier tonight my s oul departs from me
Str iding like Thalia's ghost so uth on the m urky sea
And into midnight's tapestry she fa des ragged and wild
Sea rching down her ancestry in the costum e of a P ersia n chi ld
And gulf winds bring me flying fish that sh ine in the crescent moon
Sho w me the horizon where the d awn will break a ne w
And cool me here on this lonely pier where the h eron are flying low
Ech o the songs my fathe r knew in the t owns of Mexico
When I was young my eyes were wise my father was good to me
Instead of having a flock of sons he had two other girls and me
And if we had used our Spanish names here's the way they'd run
Thalia Margarita and Juanita I'm the middle one.
The screen door kept the demons in as we moved from town to town
It's hard to be a princess in the States when your skin is brown
And mama smoothed my worried brow as I leaned on the kitchen door
Why do you carry the weight she said of the world and maybe more?
And gulf winds bring me flying fish that sh ine in the crescent moon
Sho w me the horizon where the d awn will break a ne w
And cool me here on this lonely pier where the h eron are flying low
Ech o the songs my fathe r knew in the t owns of Mexico
My grandfathers were ministers and it came on down the line
My father preached in his parents' church when he was ten years and nine
And mama dressed in parishoners' clothes and didn't believe in hell
Her daddy fought the DAR if he'd lived I'd have known him well
They said go find a Sunday School we must have tried them all
I never stole from the silver plate my sisters had more gall
One preacher said sing out loud and clear it's the only life you've got
And the next one said be good on earth you've another life at the feet of God
And gulf winds bring me flying fish that sh ine in the crescent moon
Sho w me the horizon where the d awn will break a ne w
And cool me here on this lonely pier where the h eron are flying low
Ech o the songs my fathe r knew in the t owns of Mexico
My father turned down many a job just to give us something real
It's hard to be a scientist in the States when you've got ideals
And mama kept the budget book she kept the garden too
Bought fish from the man on Thursday fed all of us and strangers too
But time will pass and so alas will most of what we know
Though tonight my memory's eye is clear as the story's being told
And I'll play ball with the underdog and sit with the child who's wrong
Be still when the earth is silent and sing when my strength is gone
And gulf winds bring me flying fish that sh ine in the crescent moon
Sho w me the horizon where the d awn will break a ne w
And cool me here on this lonely pier where the h eron are flying low
Ech o the songs my fathe r knew in the t owns of Mexico
Now father's going to India sometime in the fall
They tried to stay together but you just can't do it all
I'll think about him if he goes there's a little grey in his hair
Though not much because he's Mexican they don't age they just prepare
And if he goes to India I'll miss him most of all
He'll see me in the mudlarks' face hear me in the beggar's call
And mama will stay home I guess and worry if she did wrong
And I'll say a prayer for both of them and sing them both my song
And gulf winds bring me flying fish that sh ine in the crescent moon
Sho w me the horizon where the d awn will break a ne w
And cool me here on this lonely pier where the h eron are flying low
Ech o the songs my fathe r knew in the t owns of Mexico
