BEFORE THE RAINS CAME And all those lovely masqueraders Masquerade their lavish bodies They all make their way so dashing In their polished high-heeled shoes Bold and debonair Lotharios Turn water into wine They tease and drink it slowly down To wash away those burning blues Running wild out past the rusted signs Were all young beauties meet Far from confines of forgiveness Where sin is still a fancy street They dance along the alleyways Like golden lions in the heat Waiting for their one fine day in the sun The ghost that we once knew as Goodness Lies beneath a torn and faded sheet She crawls along the savage floor Down past the lights of Hopeful Street She lingers in the empty shops Where men and women used to meet She waits to steal a kiss And lift some lover off his feet And still the lonely guarded heroes Dance with malice in the night They hold up in their empty hearts And pray to God with all their might They wait for certain saviors That certainly will never come They hide their broken promises So they can never hurt no one And the days will run away and leave us in their shadows And the nights will hide in memories of our youth And we’ll remember all of the times Before the rains came… - Roger Jameson