On a bench by the river
The stragglers lurch out of tune
Early morning condensation
Soaking her party shoes
It's a tale, of a time
One for whom fate had marooned
Not gilded and mirrored but cut into pieces
A life that ended too soon
A river, a city
The waves lap the shoreline
In pretty much regular time
In the wind I stand on the bridge looking down
As the river runs by
Alone with the flickering shadow below
Holds her collar; I ask her the time
I say “it’s late” as the watch slips from my wrist
Into the currents and turns into ice
And she sang and she danced
And she sang and she danced
And she sang and she danced
And she sang and she danced
A young girl runs home from the quarry
To a new dress that’s hanging outside
From the life she chipped out of the island
To the mist on the horizon line
There’s a boat in the bay
It’s been circling all day
And releasing a cloud
I’ve been floating away
From the shells on the beach
That I left to collect
And my breathing is shallow
and broken and weak
As I sink down and down
To the river where I waited
Appears, out of reach
And then catching the watch
And then answering fine
To the girl on the bridge
Who was lost before time…..
And she sang and she danced
And she sang and she danced
And she sang and she danced
And she sang and she danced
And she sang and she danced
And she sang and she danced
And she sang and she danced
And she sang and she danced
A soundtrack to a film that is both historical and autobiographical, Yang’s music here finds graceful beauty in slowly unfolding melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 4, 2023