Lights of Taormina

Album: Tracker (2015)
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  • There's laughter in the darkness
    Music floating in across the bay
    He's half listening and wondering
    How he could have let her slip away
    So long ago but still he wants to know
    If anyone has seen her
    And he's sitting out in the night
    Looking down upon the lights of Taormina

    They were young and love was shining
    Like the colours of the rainbow
    Desire felt like choking
    Love was smoking under the volcano
    He can still taste her kisses
    Sweet as the red wine from Messina
    Now he's sitting out in the night
    Looking down upon the lights of Taormina

    Seems like another lifetime
    When they rambled along the shore
    Seems like another lifetime
    She used to call him her sweet senor
    Maybe in another lifetime
    On a pathway to the sea
    Maybe there they'll be

    The crowd calls for the emperor
    Raise their hands to hail another king
    But he's been so long a wanderer
    Another crowd can never mean a thing
    He came, he saw, he conquered
    Ten thousand voices roared in the arena
    Now he's sitting out in the night
    Looking down upon the lights of Taormina

    He hears the chimes of history
    Myths of gods and men forever ringing
    Ancient dreams in all their mystery
    Wars for Sicily and Spartan women
    In the mists of antiquity
    Ships of war set sail from Carthagina
    Now he's sitting out in the night
    Looking down upon the lights of Taormina
    Sitting out in the night
    Looking down upon the lights of Taormina Writer/s: MARK KNOPFLER
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 3

  • Karenmac from RyeJust wonderful. I saw Mark K and Bob D performing together. Will never ever forget that experience. As Undrell says - effortless - such talent
  • Undrell from Francebeautiful song.. in concurrence with Paul from US comment, this song feels quite Dylan-ish, musically very tijuana/TexMex feel to it... would fit with Pat Garrett soundtrack well.. MK stamp is effortless combination of history mixed with contemporary context... love it
  • Paul from United StatesIn the CD booklet, the lyrics to this song are accompanied by a photo of Knopfler singing at the same microphone with Bob Dylan. Many of the song's lyrics seem to echo lines from Dylan's work: "seems like another lifetime," "her sweet señor," "the chimes of history," etc. It seems to me that the character in the song was at least partly inspired by Bob, who has toured with Mark frequently and worked with him on several projects starting in the late 1970's.
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