[Verse:]
You came to summer's daughter in the twilight of the day
You swept her off her feet and made to carry her away
And a wordless bargain sealed us, long before our tale was told
That whenever I should come to you be time of grief and cold
And it was capture of a kind, but it was never what they think
They all forget I had a choice, you know
I could have chosen not to eat or drink

[Chorus:]
But you only knew me in winter
When the leaves had all finished their fall
Yes, you only knew me in winter
So how could you know me at all?

[Verse:]
And when you send me back to springtime, there is no one who will know
That a part of me remains with you, beneath your frozen snow
For an ageless age ago, when there was no such thing as sin
When I pledged to love the darkness, I could see the light within
And they were grieved and shocked, those ancients, for they could not understand
How there could be such truth and joy
How lay such tenderness in such a heavy hand

[Chorus:]
But you only knew me in winter
When the leaves had all finished their fall
Yes, you only knew me in winter
So how could you know me at all?
[Bridge:]
And I loved you as you were, but you refused to understand
And I cannot be of your keep, and you will not be of my land
If I could plant a winter blossom, would it make you think of me?
In the silence of the summer
In the dawning of the day
There are worlds that you have never tried to see

[Verse:]
And once you thought to turn me truly to your queen in more than name
When you saw you were succeeding, did you feel a pang of shame?
For the way you rule your kingdom makes me turn aside and weep
Still you rouse in me desires that make me cry out in my sleep
Now even standing in the sunlight, there are shadows in my hair
I feel your cool hand on my throat, oh yes
No matter where I am, I feel you there

[Chorus:]
But you only held me in winter
When the dead leaves relinquished the fall
Yes, you only knew me in winter
No, you never knew me at all...