The Marvelous Clouds - Rod McKuen

I’m the son of the wild swan of Flanders

Who sailed on a river of dreams

My mother, the swan, has left me and gone

My home is the banks of the stream

And the marvelous clouds sail by

Marvelous clouds

Aloft in the soft summer sky

Marvelous clouds

I’ve seen all the lovers in doorways

I’ve heard every promise at dawn

I’ve spent too much time just standing in line

To be told I should move along

And the marvelous clouds sail by

Marvelous clouds

Aloft in the soft summer sky

Marvelous clouds

I’ve looked at the eyes of your heroes

As they sailed home from far distant lands

The mud on their uniforms, mud on their boots

Blood on their faces and hands

And the marvelous clouds sail by

Marvelous clouds

Aloft in the soft summer sky

Marvelous clouds

My father the king of the mountain

Looks down and watches his child

Come home says he, if you hate what you see

You’re young and the country is wild

But I stay and I wait for the cannons

And the drums to stop drumming my ears

Is it too late mankind, have you run out of time

It’s a matter of days or just years

And the marvelous clouds sail by

Marvelous clouds

Aloft in the soft summer sky

Marvelous clouds

Marvelous clouds

Marvelous clouds

The marvelous clouds