I Had a King

I had a king in a tenement castle Lately he's taken to painting the pastel walls brown He's taken the curtains down He's swept with the broom of contempt And the rooms have an empty ring He's cleaned with the tears Of an actor who fears for the laughter's sting I can't go back there anymore You know my keys won't fit the door You know my thoughts don't fit the man They never can, they never can I had a king dressed in drip-dry and paisley Latеly he's taken to saying "I'm crazy and blind" He livеs in another time Ladies in gingham still blush While he sings them of wars and wine But I in my leather and lace I can never become that kind I can't go back there anymore You know my keys won't fit the door You know my thoughts don't fit the man They never can, they never can I had a king in a salt-rusted carriage Who carried me off to his country for marriage too soon Beware of the power of moons There's no one to blame No, there's no one to name as a traitor here The king's on the road And the queen's in the grove 'til the end of the year I can't go back there anymore You know my keys won't fit the door You know my thoughts don't fit the man They never can, they never can They never can, they never can