The Gathering Field

That Night

The Gathering Field


In a small, Pennsylvania town the kind that
Looks like a postcard from a distance
There sprang a true love, a God-forbidden new love
Complete with romance and resistance

Bars and churches and one-pump Texacos
Provide the setting and the frame work
He's been calling her, her mama's stalling him
But now they're on their way to claim her

That night - he sat in the back seat
That night - they drove up and down the street
That night - all he wanted was to see her face again

Summer nights they danced beneath the stars
Upon the Erie shore she would receive him
But oh those days are passed and she ain't been to class
And he don't know what to believe

Now Cupid's army, stand behind their leader
They carry chains and wear black leather
They dragged her mama out,
The neighbor fathers saw her kick and shout
And then they all did band together

That night - soldiers lined the field
That night - trash can lids for shields
That night - in his cries they heard the depths of love revealed

And the funny thing was, she was miles away
Her aunt and uncle's house, and in the family way
And he never knew, cause she never said so
If only she had told him 'bout it
He would a' never let them go

In a small, Pennsylvania town the kind that
Looks like a postcard from a distance
There was a burst of violence in the name of first love
I know cause I was an eye witness

That night - he went to stake his claim
That night - I called my lover's name
That night - I only wanted things to be the same again
To be the same again
That night
Oh that night