Now the bough breaks
Now the bough breaks
Now the bough breaks
Oh, now the bough

The books I read
Said you were a fragile kid
Just as I'd imagined it
Your story goes:

Another nosebleed
Roses on the pillowcase
The fever breaks
And you're back on earth again

And you rehearse
In the living room
The nursemaid comes mid-afternoon
To say "you've practiced long enough today"

She takes your bow
It's suppertime
But oh, your only appetite
Was fixed on the chaconne you'd hoped to play

Fixed on the chaconne
Fixed on the chaconne
Fixed on the chaconne you'd hoped to play
So soon you're off
To the academy
The honors
And the accolades

First a darling
Then a marvel
When we met
I was still a young girl

You had changed, already famous
Your name was a contagion
You were vain, hard to take
All the same, I was brazen

(Oh, how the tides rise)
How the tides rise
(How the tides rise)
How the tides rise
(How the tides rise)
Oh, how the tides rise

I don't suppose you'd tell the truth
So I won't ask you anymore
All the things that we'll do
To pass the time between the wars
I don't regret a single day
Heard your chaconne on every stage
Your love sleeps in a velvet case
So what'd you bring me, bring me for?
What'd you bring me, you bring me for?
(What'd you bring me?)
You bring me, you bring me
What'd you bring me for?

I hear you keep your pretty wife alive
On only brie
They say a dozen years ago
She could have passed for me

She doesn't trust you with the baby
Maybe better that way
Safe in your study
Going grey

You're at your best
When you're alone
Above the fray
With your chaconne

(Now the bells toll)
Now the bells toll
(Now the bells toll)
Now the bells toll
(Now the bells toll)
Oh, now the bells toll
Now the bells toll
Now the bells toll
Now the bells toll
Oh, now the bells
Now the bells toll
Now the bells toll
Now the bells toll
Oh, now the bells