THE DECEMBERISTS - Red Right Ankle lyrics

This is the story of your red right ankle

And how it came to meet your leg

And how the muscle, bone, and sinews tangled

And how the skin was softly shed

And how it whispered “Oh, adhere to me

For we are bound by symmetry

And whatever differences our lives have been

We together make a limb.”

This is the story of your red right ankle.

This is the story of your gypsy uncle

You never knew ‘cause he was dead

And how his face was carved and rift with wrinkles

In the picture in your head.

And remember how you found the key

To his hide-out in the Pyrenees

But you wanted to keep his secret safe

So you threw the key away.

This is the story of your gypsy uncle.

This is the story of the boys who loved you

Who love you now and loved you then

And some were sweet, some were cold and snuffed you

And some just laid around in bed.

Some had crumbled you straight to your knees

Did it cruel, did it tenderly

Some had crawled their way into your heart

To rend your ventricles apart

This is the story of the boys who loved you

This is the story of your red right ankle.