Oleanders

Oleanders grew here by your gate I well remember
They looked so good
First day I rode along
And the oleanders blew here in the warm winds of September
I remember being here with you
Making plans all Summer long

We were dancing in the big house when someone stopped the music
And told us all the fighting had begun
And I well remember leaving
And you not understanding
That a man from Massachusetts couldn't wear a Southern gun

Oh, Miranda
We had our reasons then
But like the seasons then they changed
And so did you
I know, Miranda
Our world went mad around us
We only did the things we thought we had to do

Oleanders grew there on a hill in Pennsylvania
I saw them as I lie there on the stones
And while these Southern cannons blasted everything around me
My mind was back here with you in your Mississippi home

And I could almost hear you laughing
Feel you walking close beside me
See you riding down the road we used to ride
And it was hard to fight a war
I wasn't sure that I believed in
But it was harder when I knew that you were on the other side

Oh, Miranda
We had our reasons then
But like the seasons then they changed
And so did I
I know, Miranda
The war is still between us
But we could make it if we gave it one more try

Oleanders blossomed in the cool days of November
I remember how they'd scatter on the ground
And I can almost hear you crying
As you came running from the big house
I can almost hear the thunder
Of the fires that brought it down

Oh, Miranda
We had all reasons then
But like the seasons then they changed, and now they've gone
So, Miranda
The time has come to live
The world will still be going on
Long after we are gone