I've Heard it Said

I've heard it said
In ancient books
That travelers to Araby are rewarded with tears...

Flesh to flesh, manhood to manhood.
That gift you gave me, fresh as blood in my memory!
But travelers to Araby are rewarded with tears...

I loved you, my weakness found repose
In your embrace,
But travelers to Araby...

So now I play Faure this Christmas time,
And drink, and smoke and remember those nights
Of sweet sanctuary in Araby...

Adrift now, lost, the sea all around me,
Lost, lost,
Araby...