Joan Of Arc - Leonard Cohen

Now the flames they followed Joan of Arc\nAs she came riding through the dark;\nNo moon to keep her armour bright,\nNo man to get her through this very smoky night.\nShe said, «I'm tired of the war,\nI want the kind of work I had before,\nA wedding dress or something white\nTo wear upon my swollen appetite.»\nWell, I’m glad to hear you talk this way,\nYou know I’ve watched you riding every day\nAnd something in me yearns to win\nSuch a cold and lonesome heroine.\n«And who are you?"she sternly spoke\nTo the one beneath the smoke.\n«Why, I’m fire,"he replied,\n«And I love your solitude, I love your pride.»\n«Then fire, make your body cold,\nI’m going to give you mine to hold,»\nSaying this she climbed inside\nTo be his one, to be his only bride.\nAnd deep into his fiery heart\nHe took the dust of Joan of Arc,\nAnd high above the wedding guests\nHe hung the ashes of her wedding dress.\nIt was deep into his fiery heart\nHe took the dust of Joan of Arc,\nAnd then she clearly understood\nIf he was fire, oh then she must be wood.\nI saw her wince, I saw her cry,\nI saw the glory in her eye.\nMyself I long for love and light,\nBut must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?\nNEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY