St. John (St. Jean)

The Bousbir of Casablanca…
The Casbah of Algiers…
Even the Barrio Chino of Barcelona
Could only boast of second place
Next to you…
The harbour of the world
The secrets of a girl
The labours of a friend
A place to live the dream
To musical machines
Never seen again…
Saint John, your temples are broken
Saint John, your sacraments are unspoken
Saint John, your congregation has gone
But your testament lives on
Saint John
So they cleaned you up
They tried to break your soul
They took away your heart
In that winter cold — and now
You’re just a memory of a broken home
From a history book
To a field of ashes and stone…
To build upon your grave
A place without a face
A place without a heart
But once, you sold your dreams
To musical machines
Never seen again…
Saint John, your temples are broken
Saint John, your sacraments are unspoken
Saint John, your congregation has gone
But your testament lives on
Saint John
Les piano mecaniques
Jouent pour les marins
Dans le port de Marseille
Dans les bars a Putains*
Like a thousand souls of young lost girls
Disappearing like star-dust
Into the clouds
On this — the final journey
Never to be seen again…
Saint John, your temples are broken
Saint John, your sacraments are unspoken
Saint John, your congregation has gone
But your testament lives on
Saint John