Once I Was A Lady

Once I was a lady
Dressed in black and blue
I used to walk the boulevard
Because that's what ladies do
My nails were always polished
My secrets always hid
I just did whatever it was
That all the other ladies did

At nighttime around my bedside
I keep a million lights
One for every soldier
Who fought the war and died
For my husband is a landlord
Whose eyes are full of greed
And his army full of young men
Whom he never even sees

But now I am somebody else with golden books upon my shelves
And diamonds on my mind
Strolling through the woods at night to find the little bits of light others leave behind

Once I was a soldier
In the army of some lord
I have never even seen him
I just got paid to hold his sword
I kept my armour shiny
And I kept my secrets hid
And whatever I was told to do
That is what I did

When I think about it now it's hard for me to say
Whether I had a choice in life to do the things my way
Because by the time I heard about that lady's bedside state
I had already gone far too far and it was already too late

But now I am somebody else with golden books upon my shelves
And diamonds on my mind
Strolling through the woods at night to find the little bits of light others leave behind

Once I was a student
I had to pick up my degree
And I thought about the years gone by
The years that numbered three
How things that had seemed important
Turned out to be a joke
And things that had seemed natural
Had all gone up in smoke

Earlier a crowd had come to see me win my prize
I felt like I deserved it, it was justice in my eyes
But the only thing that I could think was
What am I gonna do?
When all of this is over
When my days of hope are through?'

But now I am somebody else with golden books upon my shelves
And diamonds on my mind
Strolling through the woods at night to find the little bits of light others leave behind