the Clockmaker’s Daughter lyrics
I fell in love with a woman named Patience,
we kissed a few times then she split.
And I haven’t seen her again.
But one day I’ll marry that Clockmaker’s Daughter,
in a church, on a Sunday in spring.
The last thing she gave me was a handful of appleseeds
to plant near the lake where we met.
And each day that sapling grows closer to heaven;
I worry that tree is the closest I’ll get.
I’ve missed her so much since she left.
But one day I’ll marry the Clockmaker’s Daughter,
in a church, on a Sunday in spring.
I’ve work thirty years in the trainyards each day,
my afternoons spent in that apple tree’s shade.
It’s blossomed grown tall while my hair has gone gray.
Women have come to me but I’m happy to wait,
because I know that I’ll see her again.
And one day I’ll marry the Clockmaker’s Daughter,
in a church, on a Sunday in spring.
When my watch broke, I caught a lift to his store,
the gentle old Clockmaker stood in the door,
I said “Sir, has your daughter been well?”
“Son,” he said, “you must be cruel or daft.
Beautiful Patience died thirty years past.
And we’ll never see her again.”
I took an old rope, up to the lake
and while I was walking I called out her name,
“Patience, don’t worry, I won’t be long.”
I tested its branches and found they were strong,
so I’ll hang until I run out of breath.
And tomorrow I’ll marry the Clockmaker’s Daughter,
in heaven, if I can get in.