Steve Earle (Quicksilver Daydreams Of) Maria Lyrics

Well, a diamond fades quickly when matched to the face
of Maria
All the harps they sound empty when she lifts her lips
to the sky
The brown of her skin makes her hair seem a soft golden
rainfall
That spills from the mountains to the bottomless depths
of her eyes

Well, she stands all around me her hands slowly sifting
the sunshine
All the laughter that linger down deep 'neath her
smilin' is free
Well, it spins and it twirls like a hummingbird lost in
the morning
Then caresses the south wind and silently sails to the
sea

Ah, the sculptor stands stricken and the artist he
throws away his brushes
When her image comes dancin' the sun she turns sullen with shame
And the birds they go silent the wind stops his sad
mournful singing
When the trees of the forest start gently to whispering
her name

So as softly she wanders I'll desperately follow her
footsteps
And I'll chase after shadows that offer a trace of her
sigh
Ah, they promise eternally that she lies hidden within
them
But I find they've deceived me and sadly I bid them
goodbye

So the serpent slide softly away with his moments of
laughter
And the the old washer-woman has finished her cleanin'
and gone
But the bamboo hang heavy in the bondage of quicksilver
daydreams
And a lonely child longingly looks for a place to
belong