(Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria Songtext
von Townes van Zandt

Well, a diamond fades quickly
When matched to the face of Maria
All the harps they sound empty
When she lifts her lips to the sky

All the brown of her skin
Makes her hair seem a soft golden rainfall
That spills from the mountains
To the bottomless depths of her eyes

She stands all around me
Her hands slowly sifting the sunshine
All the laughter that linger


Down deep 'neath her smilin' is free
Well, it spins and it twirls
Like a hummingbird lost in the morning
Then caresses the south wind
And silently sails to the sea

As softly she wanders
I'll desperately follow her footsteps
And I'll chase after shadows
That offer a trace of her sigh
They promise eternally
That she lies hidden within them
But I find they've deceived me
And sadly I bid them goodbye


So, the serpent slide softly away
With his moments of laughter
And the the old washer woman
Has finished her cleanin' and gone
The bamboo hangs heavy
In the bondage of quicksilver daydreams
And a lonely child longingly
Looks for a place to belong