[Verse 1] She learned the winter streets of Berlin Before she learned what borders meant Her mother kept Odessa In photographs the years had bent A silver star beneath her collar A second name inside her shoe One tongue for home, one tongue for strangers And one she only spoke with you [Refrain] Meet me in the third country Where nobody asks our names Past the stations, past the checkpoints Past the uniforms and claims Meet me in the third country Where the maps are folded small You belong to one side I belong to none at all [Verse 2] He came from Moscow under cover With quiet hands and careful eyes He knew the price of every secret She knew the shape of every lie They met beneath the railway arches Where melted snow ran black with rain She gave him half of what he wanted He gave her half a different name [Refrain] Meet me in the third country Where nobody asks our names Past the stations, past the checkpoints Past the uniforms and claims Meet me in the third country Leave your papers in the hall You belong to one side I belong to none at all [Verse 3] Some nights she dreamed the Black Sea rising Against the windows of Berlin Her father’s voice across the water Her lover breathing on her skin He asked her who she worked for She smiled and turned away There are questions lovers shouldn’t ask If they intend to stay [Instrumental: bowed strings, flute, hand drum] [Verse 4] She carried names across the border He carried orders from the east Each one knew the other might betray them Neither one could make it cease And when the morning trains were leaving He touched the scar beneath her hand She said, “You serve a flag and country I serve what I can still withstand” [Final Refrain] Meet me in the third country Before the morning starts Beyond the files and photographs Beyond our borrowed parts Meet me in the third country Where no anthem reaches through You may still belong to Russia But tonight I belong with you [Outro: female voice alone] Odessa in the water Berlin beneath the snow Three countries in my memory And nowhere left to go
