The Vandal and the Saint

Shielding my eyes against the shatterlight dawn
As inviting as the wrong end of a gun
Reluctant farewells
Then a taxi ride back to the lonesome hotel
Sharing a room with the Butcher
Looking for her street on the map
I had half a mind to go back there
I had to choose between the vandal and the saint

She looked like a German film star
Dressed in limousine black
A dancer portraying a waitress
Both ballet and burlesque
I couldn't take my eyes off her
She said she liked the soft songs best

Oh, Elvira
A kiss for the vandal and the saint
I felt like butter on a knife's edge
In love with the handsome beast
And the line between life and stupid glory
That sets the wicked pace

I am serving a residency
Here with the Frankfurt blues
The ghosts of conquests past
Walking in a dead man's shoes
I believe in the happy idiot
In the international free state
I believe in the truth behind the paint that roars
I believe in the vandal and the saint

Oh Elvira