Rick Ford Songwriter

A RED ROSE
Rick Ford

A red rose lies bleeding in the aftermath of freedom
There's a scar of mangled teardrops in the shadowlands of fame
When Dietrich goes a drinking there'll be weeping in the hedgerows
And a vignette of disaster in every frozen frame

Be careful what you wish for
Beware of what you dream
There are attics full of broken train sets
And children's tambourines

Grass grows in the railtracks, and the walls are all graffiteed
In the street the wind blows cold as yesterday's bad memories
Looks like a spider spilt the paint can and went rampaging round the city
And daubed decorous indignities on yesterday's regime

Be careful what you wish for
Beware of what you dream
The attics full of faded photographs
And baby's first bootees

And Sylvia's very friendly in a downtown Warsaw whorehouse
Says she's happy what she's doing, makes good money anyway
But the light behind her eyes grows dim when I say that I don't want her
She smiles at me a little sadly and then she slowly walks away

Be careful what you wish for
Beware of what you dream
Shops full of Russian dolls from China
And cheap designer jeans

Ivan's a wild eyed shock haired vagabond, since he came back from the war,
Staggers down a piss-stained alley and falls headlong in the snow,
Each night he drowns himself in vodka 'cos he can't stand his memories
Believes his mother when she says life was better under Uncle Joe

Be careful what you wish for
Beware of what you dream
Sometimes the places that you visit
You'll wish you'd never seen

Once Lottie was a beauty, her eyes they flashed like diamonds
Her teeth they shone like river pearls and her laughter made men weak
Now she sits huddled in her apartment and lives on cigarettes and cheap sausages
And dreams about the old days, lost in what might have been

Be careful what you wish for
Beware of what you dream
If you're not a winner you're a loser
'Cos there's nothing inbetween