Desire (Bob Dylan)

A long time ago, I was driving on a highway,
Not the 61 though, and not in a Buick.
Heading to some gloomy european town,
I wished for cheap booze and unlikely love.

The first Zaphmobile was a small Fiat car,
Worn out, unsafe, and half-eaten by rust,
"But she has a twin carburator" the dealer had boasted.
I had no clue what it was, but that made me buy her.

I had to drive real slow, otherwise the fuckinburator
Or whatever it was, made so much noise
I could not hear Dylan singing
On the auto-reverse Harry Moss deck :

I laid on a dune, I looked at the sky,
When the children were babies and played on the beach.
You came up behind me, I saw you go by,
You were always so close and still within reach.

All of a sudden, there was a shape in the dark
Standing still in the middle of the road.
It was a girl, looking straight at my car, not moving a toe.
I braked like mad, then she went quietly around
to the passenger door, and sat besides me.

Sara, Sara,
Whatever made you want to change your mind?
Sara, Sara,
So easy to look at, so hard to define.

"Hey", she said, hearing the music,
"That's my favorite record, and my favorite song !
I'm called Sarah too, but with an 'h'.
Wherever you go, I will go too."

I can still see them playin' with their pails in the sand,
They run to the water their buckets to fill.
I can still see the shells fallin' out of their hands
As they follow each other back up the hill.

She didn't talk much. She only told me
She had just dropped her boyfriend earlier today.
She was from a nordic country, can't remember which one.
They were travelling south, but she would continue alone,
He was such a little bastard.

Sara, Sara,
Sweet virgin angel, sweet love of my life,
Sara, Sara,
Radiant jewel, mystical wife.

Sleepin' in the woods by a fire in the night,
Drinkin' white rum in a Portugal bar,
Them playin' leapfrog and hearin' about Snow White,
You in the marketplace in Savanna-la-Mar.

She knew all the songs by heart,
And she sang along with Dylan,
For one hour or more. She had a lovely voice.
I joined when I could, I knew only some words :

Sara, Sara,
It's all so clear, I could never forget,
Sara, Sara,
Lovin' you is the one thing I'll never regret.

I can still hear the sounds of those Methodist bells,
I'd taken the cure and had just gotten through,
Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel,
Writin' "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" for you.

When we reached the town, she said "drop me at the station."
She had to go on with her trip, she said,
And would soon lie on the warm beaches of the South.
She leaned through the door, and gave me a long and soft kiss.
Then she walked toward the station, and didn't look back.

Sara, Sara,
Wherever we travel we're never apart.
Sara, oh Sara,
Beautiful lady, so dear to my heart.

How did I meet you? I don't know.
A messenger sent me in a tropical storm.
You were there in the winter, moonlight on the snow
And on Lily Pond Lane when the weather was warm.

Each time I play this record, I think I can still hear Sarah's voice.
Sarah, oh Sarah, sometimes I think that
Not loving you is the one thing I will ever regret.
I wonder if you remember me the way I remember you.
Probably not ; how stupid of me !

Sara, oh Sara,
Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress,
Sara, Sara,
You must forgive me my unworthiness.

Now the beach is deserted except for some kelp
And a piece of an old ship that lies on the shore.
You always responded when I needed your help,
You gimme a map and a key to your door.

Today, as I'm driving to the beach, I remember.
The Zaphmobile has changed, and me too.
And two little voices from the back seats
Are singing with the tune, words they don't understand :
"C'est là, c'est là ! Donne un valif, donne un vago."
Then, they laugh, and I smile at them in the rear-view mirror.

Sara, oh Sara,
Glamorous nymph with an arrow and bow,
Sara, oh Sara,
Don't ever leave me, don't ever go.