fare thee well my bright star

i watched your taillights blaze into nothingness

but you were long gone before I ever got to you

before you blazed past this address



and now I think of having loved and having lost

but never know what it feels like to never love

who can say what's better when my heart's become the cost

a mere token of a brighter jewel sent from above



fare thee well my bright star

the vanity of youth the color of your eyes

and maybe if i'd fanned the blazing fire of your day-to-day

or if i'd been older i'd been wise



too thick the heat of those long summer evenings

for a cool evening i began to yearn

but you could only feed upon the things which feed a fire

waiting to see if i would burn



fare thee well my bright star

it was a brief brilliant miracle dive

that which i looked up to and i clung to for dear life

had to burn itself up just to make itself alive



and i caught you then in your moment of glory

your last dramatic scene against a night sky stage

with a moment so clear that it's as if you're still before me

my once in a lifetime star of an age



so fare thee well my bright star

last night the tongues of fire circled me around

and this strange season of pain will come to pass

when the healing hands of autumn cool me down





words and music emily saliers

copyright 1994 bmi virgin music inc and godhap music (bmi