Darius Left His Coat

Verse 1 Darius left his coat In the room behind the room With the lamp still going softly And the wine still smelling warm There were dates upon a silver plate There were slippers by the bed There were letters folded carefully That nobody had read I thought I’d find an empire Like a beast with golden teeth But the tent was full of ordinary things A frightened man would leave I stood there with my sword down Like an actor off his mark Darius left his coat And the coat stayed in the dark Pre-Chorus And nobody tells you When the enemy runs He leaves behind weather He leaves behind crumbs Chorus Darius left his coat Like a man leaves skin I thought I’d find an empire But the room still smelled of him Darius left his coat And the world got thin You can chase a king forever But you still won’t catch the thing Verse 2 There were women in the corner There were children without sound There were guards who had stopped guarding There were jewels on the ground I had wanted him enormous I had wanted him divine I had wanted him to justify The thunder in my spine But his cup was on the table And his pillow had a crease And the man who owned the morning Had departed like a thief Bridge I could kill a hundred thousand I could burn the cities gold I could drag my name through Asia Till the stars did what they’re told But the thing that nearly broke me Was the coat across the chair A man-shaped little absence In the very human air Final Chorus Darius left his coat Like a man leaves skin I thought I’d find an empire But the room still smelled of him Darius left his coat And the world got thin You can chase a king forever But you still won’t catch the thing Outro Darius left his coat I left it where it lay Some victories are rooms You should walk out of straight away