INTRO — smoky speakeasy piano, soft upright bass, no drums yet, intimate room noise, slow swing] [VERSE 1 — female cabaret vocal, loose behind-the-beat phrasing, piano and upright bass only] The tricorn won’t stop sighing, love, he’s three notes of this song, And the borhin’s hooves are tangled ’cause his sweetheart took too long. When the chryseos quit her dancing and the umbryss couldn’t bluff, Why, the whole pass came down singing that ol’ love is fickle stuff. [REFRAIN 1 — clarinet enters with smoky answer lines, bass slap lightly on beat four] Oh, the caravans roll through, love, they roll in and they roll on — Love has set the beasts astir, the scout and the deserter concur. It’s silvered scale, and silk, and spur at the Chalice ’til the dawn. [VERSE 2 — muted trumpet answers vocal phrases, brushes enter softly, keep space between lines] The velvorn’s left the deep wood for a stool down at the bar, And the skorix counts his sorrows by the bottoms of the jars. When a turtama starts to whistle ’cause her river ran too far, Well, you know the Chalice opens and the lamps come down to char. [REFRAIN 2 — fuller small jazz band, violin shadows melody, celeste glints only on phrase endings] Oh, the caravans roll through, love, they roll in and they roll on — Love has set the beasts astir, the scout and the deserter concur. It’s silvered scale, and silk, and spur at the Chalice ’til the dawn. [BRIDGE — strip down, bowed bass, piano, clarinet ghost tones, no slap, no trumpet, no drums] Between the Spine and the Atlas, where the wind don’t know its name, Every heart that crosses Passage Town gets clipped a little lame. There’s a chalice on the back shelf, love, silver as the snow — And it pours out what the body wants but the spirit oughta know. [FINAL REFRAIN — full small jazz band, slap bass returns stronger, brushes, clarinet, muted trumpet, violin, low lazy trombone answers] Oh, the caravans roll through, love, they roll in and they’re gone — Love has set the beasts astir, the scout and the deserter concur. It’s silvered scale, and silk, and spur at the Chalice ’til the dawn. [TAG — instruments drop out except piano, bass wood resonance, and intimate vocal] ’Til the dawn, love… ’til the dawn.
