Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Painters by Jewel

Painters by Jewel


Eighty years, an old lady now, sitting on the front porch

Watching the clouds roll by
They remind her of her lover, how he left her, and of times long ago,
When she used color carelessly, painted his portrait
A thousand times, or maybe just his smile,
Her and her canvas would follow him wherever he would go

'Cause they were painters and they were painting themselves
A lovely world

Oil streaked daisies covered the living room walls
He put water colored roses in her hair
He said, "Love, I love you,
I want to give you the mountains, the sunshine,
The sunset too
I want to give you a world as beautiful as you are to me"

'Cause I'm a painter and I want to paint you
A lovely way

So they sat down and made a drawing of their love,
They made it an art to live by
They painted every passion, every home, created every beautiful child
In the winter they were weavers of warmth,
In the summer they were carpenters of love
They thought blue prints were too sad so they made them yellow

And they were painters and they had painted themselves
A lovely world

Until one day the rain fell as thick as black oil
And in her heart she knew something was wrong
She went running through the orchard screaming,
"No God, don't take him from me!"
But by the time she got there, she feared he already had gone
She got to where he lay, water colored roses in his hands for her
She threw them down screaming, "Damn you man, don't leave me
With nothing left behind but these cold paintings, these cold portraits
To remind me!"

He said, "Love I only leave a little, try to understand
I put my soul in this life we've created with these four hands
Love, I leave, but only a little, this world holds me still
My body may die now, but these paintings are real"
La li lai la li lai la li lai

So many seasons came and many seasons went
And many times she saw her love's face watering the flowers,
Talking to the trees and singing to his children,
And when the wind blew, she knew he was listening,
And how he seemed to laugh along, and how he seemed to hold her
When she was crying

'Cause they were painters and they had painted themselves
A lovely world

Eighty years, an old lady now, sitting on the front porch
Watching the clouds roll by
They remind her of her lover, how he left her, and of times long ago,
When she used color carelessly, painted his portrait
A thousand times, or maybe just his smile,
Her and her canvas would follow him wherever he would go
Yes, she and her canvas still follow

'Cause they are painters and they are painting themselves
A lovely
'Cause they are painters and they are painting themselves
A lovely world





My almost twin sister & me in the 1980’s. I’m the tall one. 😼 We’re 10-1/2 months apart in age.





3 comments:

Kelly said...

I bet having a sibling (especially of the same sex) that close in age had its good points AND bad ones! My brother's first three kids all came within the first 4 years of marriage. I have friend whose mother had two sets of twins less than a year apart, then her alcoholic husband left them. I admired that woman raising six kids alone.

PhilipH said...

I enjoyed the video and thanks for including the lyrics as well.

A soulful song. So many people, both men and women, can relate to these wistful and sorrowful dreamlike memories.

Great photo too, or you and Sis; really lovely. I do hope you are as well as can be although I sense some wistfulness in a way? I'm probably wrong; as usual.

Best wishes, Philip x

Marion said...

Kelly, we fought like dogs. 😝😂🤣 I have an older sister, too. I don’t think I could have handled 6! My dental hygienist has 6 daughters & her husband absconded when they were small. She’s a tough cookie, for sure.

Thanks, Philip. No, you’re 100% right. I’m feeling nostalgic and old & still fighting my horrific chronic pain. My Mom is 93 and fragile and I worry about her. She still has all her marbles and that’s a blessing. I talk to her weekly. No one warns you about how it feels when most of your life is behind you, not in front. It’s a sobering feeling as I’m sure you know. It’s also strange to literally have to consider & prepare for your own death. I prefer imagination to reality, so it’s super difficult for me. I hope you’re doing well. If you have any advice, I’ll take it. 🙂 xo