Seabirds

(Words and Music by Joan Baez) Don't worry about my politics They are what they are I work best when I get some rest Right now I'm in a bar Overlooking the whole wide world It's over the Pacific I've never written when I was drunk This could be terrific! And the seabird struggles in the wind She topples, balances again The lady sitting next to me Is gazing in the eyes Of the stranger sitting next to her Who is mouthing truths and lies He's actually quite nice I guess He has an honest look He doesn't know I've lost my mind Scribbling in this book And the seabird struggles in the wind She topples, balances again Consumed by the evening's masterpiece Completely introverted From here I could stare down eternity leave alone and not feel deserted I'm tired of interesting faces And the dull ones make my weep Don't ask me what my sign is Instant intimacy runs cheap The ocean is so bountiful It spreads from coast to coast The winds scale off the whitecaps And the things I love the most Come wafting up into my lap In the colors of the great sunrise Children holding cupcakes With paradise in their eyes And the seabird struggles in the wind She topples, balances again Four big pelicans just flew by The room got very still One of them carried the breath of God Tucked way back in his bill I know it was the breath of God It's the same as the secret of life He's carrying it off to the Shah of Iran To trade it for the end of strife And the seabird struggles in the wind She topples, balances again © 1976, 1977 Gabriel Earl Music (ASCAP)