Magpie

On a lark, I took a drive down a dark road
Toward the sign that said 'The West'
When I seen it
That glimmering green mark was all I needed
To feel you in the passenger seat
Humming I’m older
I feel your withered hand on my knee
Though I'm traveling alone

When we we were kids we'd pile in
And take the the same road toward
The island in the West
We would run and skipping stones
Sinking lower than the evening sun
You were an old man then
Getting older every day
And I could feel it then
Those were diamond days

And I think I know where
Where you go when you die you're the magpie
One sorrow, two for joy

Though I never pay no mind to the wire
All the birds that perched upon it
But now a bee's in my bonnet
I remember the country roads
Causeways and the dunes
And the magpie's lonely wail sounded like you

Now that I think that I know
Where we going when you die
You are the magpie

All the way from Clare
The Atlantic in our hair
A murder of crows flew over us
Early morning drive, singing to pass the time
When you can shut the door
And you can feel us
Coming around the bend, coming home again
Even the sky come down like this

When you go
We will bury you along the same road
As the sun sets in the west
You, on our shoulders, we will lower you
Into the ground like a boulder
When a magpie lands on me, humming a
I feel your breath on my
Cheek though I'm alone