Red Velvet

Four months ago last April on a day coach she came down,
Nasty Autumn winds began to blow
Should have known I couldn't hold her living out so far from town,
The nights to come were long and slow to go.

If I had known, when first we kissed
You can't keep Red Velvet on a border farm like this
Now she's up and left me and I'm walking down the line
Dusty autumn, winds began to blow.

All dressed up in red velvet in her high heel shoes so fine
The nights to come were long and slow to go
Somewhere in Vietnam a 19 year old soldier walked out of a barroom
And he said, ''I must be seeing things, that bourbon hit me like a baseball bat.''

In Belfast, Ireland a little lady dropped her shovel in her garden
She raced across the yard and asked her neighbor Mrs. Clancy, ''What was that?''
In Memphis, Tennesee a teacher raised the window, closest to the river
And the children in her classroom swore they heard a choir singing down the street.
In Washington, DC a private secretaries lips began to quiver
And the president just put aside his papers and rose quickly to his feet.

I lay in a cheap motel in the arms of someone else's woman
When a loud explosion rocked the room and turned the morning into night
I jumped out of bed and ran into the street with hardly any clothes on,
As the sky lit up, my heart stood still and I could feel my face as it turned to white.

All at once the clouds rolled back and there stood Jesus Christ in all His glory and I realized
The saddest eyes I'd ever seen were looking straight at me.
I guess I was awakened by the penetrating sound of my own screaming
And it didn't take me long to stumble out of bed and fall down on my knees.

As tears rolled down my face I cried dear Lord, I'm thankful I was only dreaming,
And if I never go to hell Lord, it'll be because you scared it out of me...