Wally Lyrics

I wanna tell you of a time I went to Arizona

'Was the summer right before I turned 15

Long before the days, a hazy page, amidst corona

Swiftly planned and quickly boarded for a trip for three

Accompanied by a childhood friend and his father

A dipsomaniac who could daily quench the thirst of three

Flew to Tucson, drove to Cottonwood

To stay with a wild-eyed Englishman by the name of Wally

Wally lived on a ranch, left alone to guard his castle

Drove the snakes away to another place to let them be

Cabinets filled with tarnished relics of forgotten people

Next to the cactus that allows the pineal eye to see

As I stood along the rim above, abasked, old canyon

Gleam cascade off Rio Colorado, blinding me

And as I turned and stared upon my friend, long lost companion

The dreams we had as children, once lost, had finally come to be

We were, nearly high and dry aloft the Havasupai land

The sun had set, the tippler left, to slake his lips, and calm his head

In the dead of night, the drive zigzagged across the county line

To Yavapai, the stars shone bright, the faster we go, the faster we fly

The rumbled rush of rental car beneath my solemn figure

A trembling mess of aching flesh and mediocrity

Arrived at dawn, Wally's rocky path felt unfamiliar

The tippler blamed his son for his lack of responsibility

The river curled around the cliff that housed forgotten dwellings

Houses of loved ones long ago pushed to the sea

Dances echo within these brick walls and granite ceilings

Broken fragments of earthen pottery scattered round your feet

Fingerprints of forgotten children left in the plaster

Dried maize and blackened rock and bark from the trees

Rattlesnakes found their way to Wally's sun baked patio

He hoped the bites were dry, if not, he would no longer be

Lizards scurried in the sand searching for drops of water

Tailless they stride, undeterred by desert heat

And as we swerved along the interstate through Arizona

The moor was barren, shroud with wild smoke, and oh so bleak

But behind the sterile facade lay critters magnificent in tandem

And as they stride so proud, they soak in the desert heat

Land of warriors, phantom powers, and mystic men of honor

A holy home, a pious land for Wally