Palermo Eats the Sun (Psych Rock)

Palermo eats the sun, one yellow slice at a time. Traffic light is burning red, scooters cross the line. Dogs are dreaming under tables, wasps get drunk on bread and wine. Thursday tumbles into Friday, dawn arrives when dawn decides. Painted faces among the flowers, flowers crowning every king. Moorish heads along the balconies watch the crooked city swing. Da Via Roma sale una voce, e tutta la città vuol cantar! Lemons, lobsters, saints and roses, spinning in Sicilian blue. Etna smokes a cigarette, Palermo turns me into you. Round and round and round, Palermo, salt and sugar, stone and gold. La Sicilia ricorda every story ever told. Madonna sleeps in candlelight, a saint lives in the wall. White sheets sail between the windows, bells grow flowers when they fall. Incense, petrol, cream and sugar, gelato rivers through the street. Golden angels leave the churches, scooters shimmer in the heat. Poi il santo scende dal muro. Nessuno dice niente. Ma che fai?! He dusts his robe and crosses red. A scarlet lobster leaves his dinner, wearing lemon peel for shoes. He bows politely to three ladies, then disappears into the blue. Madonna mia! Lemons, lobsters, saints and roses, spinning in Sicilian blue. Etna blows another ring, Palermo pulls me into you. Round and round, più forte, Palermo, salt and sugar, stone and gold. Sicily remembers every story ever told. Gelato blue, gelato rose, violet shadows on palazzi. Venti minuti, fresca Palermo, then the stones return the heat. Emerald water, silver fish, white sails floating down the coast. Etna wears a cloud for breakfast, grey above the green and gold. Faster through the intersections, faster underneath the bells. VAI! VAI! The lobster reaches the water. Si gira. Fa un inchino. And disappears! Lemons! Lobsters! Saints and roses! Burning in Sicilian blue! Etna smokes his cigarette, Palermo turns me into you! Round and round and round, Palermo, sale e zucchero, pietra e oro! Sicily remembers, sì, si ricorda every story ever told... Palermo eats the sun, one yellow slice at a time. Il santo è tornato a casa. The lobster made the sea.