Steve Hackett
"Emerald And Ash"

Sugarplum fairies on parade
The smiling dolls wield the sharpest blade
Candyfloss pink the sequins whirl
Beneath a serpent ready to uncurl

A dealer playing with my state of mind
Roulette wheel the colours were entwined
Black and white Russians were prepared
She staked her claim to the lions share

Dressed in velvet in the limelight
She beckoned me from marble stairs
Long ago with all the dreamers
I fell into her emerald spell

A thousand silver songs that filled the air
Rosary the worry beads of care
I should have understood
the queen of hearts
Played to win right from the start

Dressed in velvet in the limelight
She beckoned me from marble stairs
Long ago with all the dreamers
I fell into her emerald spell

The dice were loaded, knew I was ensnared
Fingers turned to talons in my hair
A rusted door inside a golden cage
A broken chord, a bird that flew away

Dressed in velvet in the limelight
She beckoned me from marble stairs
Long ago with all the dreamers
I fell into her emerald spell