She was well rehearsed, fair brown and blonde She had friends who was busboys and friends in the Pentagon Playin' a show in Miami in the theater of divine comedy. Talked in the shadows where they talked in the rain I could tell she was still feelin' the pain Pain of rejection, pain of infidelity. Was she a child or a woman? I can't say which One to another she could easily switch. Couples were dancin' an' i lost track of the hours. He was well prepared, i knew he was Paying attention like a rattlesnake does When he's hearin' footsteps tramplin' over his flowers. And that Caribbean winds still blow from Nassau to Mexico From the circle of ice to the furnace of desire. An' them distant ships of liberty on 'em iron waves so bold and free Bringing everything that's near to me, nearer to the fire. She looked into my soul through the clothes that i wore She said, "We got a mutual friend standin' at the door. Yeah, you know he's got our best interest in mind." He was well connected, but her heart was a snare And she had left him to die in there Here were payments due and he was a little behind. Well i slept in a hotel where flies buzz my head Ceiling fan was broken, there was heat in my bed Street band playin', "Nearer My God To Thee." We met in secret where we drank from a spring She said, "I know what you're thinkin', but there ain't a thing We can do about it, so we might as well let it be." The Caribbean winds still blow from Nassau to Mexico From the circle of ice to the furnace of desire. An' them distant ships of liberty on 'em iron waves so bold and free Bringing everything that's near to me, nearer to the fire. Atlantic City, two years to the day I hear a voice cryin', "Daddy" and i looked that way But it's only the silence on the buttermilk hills that call. Every new messenger bringin' evil reports 'Bout riotin' armies and time that is short An' earthquakes and train wrecks and hate words scribbled on walls. Would i have married her? I don't know i suppose She had bells in her braids and they hung to her toes But i heard my mirrored destiny said to be movin' on. And i felt it come over me, some kind of gloom For the sake of "Come on with me girl, i got plenty of room." But i knew i'd be lyin' and besides she had already gone. And that Caribbean winds still blow from Nassau to Mexico Circle of ice to the furnace of desire. And them busy ships of liberty on 'em iron waves so bold and free Bringing everything that's near to me, nearer to the fire.