Will Oldham
Strange Affair
This is a strange affair
The time has come to travel and the road is filled with fear
This is a strange affair
My youth has all been wasted and I'm bent and grey with years
And all of my companions are now taken away
And who will provide for me against my dying day?
I took my own provisions, but they fooled me and wasted away

Oh, where are my companions?
My mother, father, lover, friend and enemy
Where are my companions?
They're prisoners of death now and they're taken far from me
And where are the dreams I dreamed in the days of my youth?
They took me to illusion when they promised me the truth
And what do sleepers need to make them listen?
Why do they need more proof?

Won't you give me an answer?
Why is your heart so hard against the one who loves you best?
When the one with the answer
Has wakened you, and warned you, and brought you to the test
And wake up from the sleep that plays like clouds upon your eyes
And win back the life you had lived before this dream of lies
Turn your back on yourself and if you follow through you'll win the lover's prize
This is a strange, a strange affair