The Day Before You Came (Collection of Versions)

The Day Before I Died (The Day Before You Came)

I must have left my house early, because I always do
The knights were gathered with sword and shield waiting for their cue
I must have read the demo paper going into town
And having gotten to the 'who's been exiled' no doubt I must have frowned
I must have done my task and added a little something fine
With letters to be sent, trying to recall rewards, each design
I must have gone to drills
Just to wonder at where my life here goes, the usual strife
And still on top of this I’m pretty sure lune must have waned
The day before their reign

I must have fought back when they had separated the crowd
And at the time I never even noticed I thought out loud
I must have kept on dragging through the rigors of the day
Without really knowing anything, I hid a part of me away
At length I must have left, only escaping from their rule
A matter of regime, I'd seen it emerge from dark winter's pool
The way back home again,
Yes I was judged a thousand times in secret meeting then
Oh yes, I’m sure my life was well studied by baleful eyes
The day when a dream dies

I must have opened a door to another year or so
And passed along the way to see flowers on my grave grow
I’m sure I recalled the matter sadly and uneasy
There’s not, I think, a single memory of the past that I didn’t see
I must have lit a torch at midnight barely outside fen
I need a lot of sleep, and so I like to be asleep by then
I often stayed awhile
To hear a work of Wilhelm Grimm or something in that style
It's funny, but I had no fear until I was their aim
The day before they came

And turning down the light
I must have yawned, hidden in sleep for yet another night
And rain heard on the roof I must have drifted off and sighed
The day before I died



Worked on:
around 2002



The Day Before You Came (Martian Ghosts Version)

I must have noted the Martian weather report at night
My train, I'm certain, left the station then sped out of sight
I must have seen the looming reddish clouds over the town
And passing through a time lag on such a long somber ride, I felt so down
I must have made the line around a quarter after nine
With reports to be read, and word of rumors, whispers of the sign
I've seen the outpost bare
An empty void of night, not a soul there, a silent stare
And still on driest wind the ghosts of Mars have taken claim
The day before you came

I must have relayed all of the details known to be true
But as it is I never felt more alone and so blue
I felt a steady pressure of endless night turning day
Within the reddish pale aura gleam, I kept a part of me away
At Firsoff crater's left, there's a strange shadow from the gloom
A matter of routine, I've named it a long since passed sense of doom
The train back home again
Undoubtedly I must have waited along the side then
Oh yes, I'm sure my life was well within its usual frame
The day before you came

A trench along the way where whispers guide which way to go
And gliding past an old odd door standing ten feet or so
I'm sure I watched a distant Martian storm and loved to see
The red planet of the past emerging once again what it used to be
I must have fallen asleep rounding six clicks after ten
I'll stay for the deep sleep, and dreams will flood in like Phobos by then
I must have walked a mile
The atmosphere less oppressive once sun sets in a while
It's funny, but I had no fear of going all the same
The day before you came

And autopilot light
Must have made me yawn, huddled up for yet another night
And Martian ghosts of long ago that I could not explain
The day before you came



Video of song set to The Ghosts of Mars

 Worked on:
 Oct 20, 2014
April 20, 2016