Oleanders

Oleanders grew here by your gate, I well remember
They looked so good first day I rode along
The oleanders blew here in the warm winds of September
I remember being with you here, making plans all summer long
We were dancing in the big house when someone stopped the music
Told us all the fighting had begun
I well remember leaving and you not understanding
That a man from Massachusetts couldn't wear a southern gun

Oh, Miranda, we had our reasons then
Like the seasons then, they changed and so did you
I know, Miranda, the world went mad around us
We only did the things we thought we had to do

Oleanders grew there on a hill in Pennsylvania
I saw them as I lied there on the stone
And while those southern cannons blasted everything around me
My mind was back here with you in your Mississippi home
And I could almost hear you laughing, feel you walking close beside me
See you riding down the roads we used to ride
And it was hard to fight a war I wasn't sure that I believed in
It was harder when I knew that you were on the other side

Oh, Miranda, we had our reasons then
Like the seasons then, they changed and so did I
I know, Miranda, the war is still between us
But we could make it if we gave it one more try

Oleanders blossom in the cool days of November
I remember how they'd scatter on the ground
And I can almost hear you crying as
You came running from the big house
I can almost hear the thunder of the fires that brought it down

Oh, Miranda, we all had reasons then
But like the seasons then, they changed and now they're gone
So, Miranda, the time has come to live
The world will still be going on long after we are gone