The Pirate of Penance - Joni Mitchell

The pirate anchored on a wednesday

And why he came to port I wonder

To see a lady so my friends say

She dances for the sailors

In a smoky cabaret bar underground

Down in a cellar in a harbor town

I know he told her love was treasure

And they would reap the fullest bounty

He only comes to port for pleasure

So when the winds of morning

Blew the curtains in she woke and found hed gone

I saw his sails unfurling thursday dawn

The pirate he will sink you with a kiss

Hell steal your heart and sail away

Saturday early we met in the cove near the forest

Hell leave you drowning in the flotsam of a broken promise in the bay

（dancing we wakened the dawn and the birds into chorus）

He came again to see her

Yes I think they told me it was saturday

（ask penance crane she was out in her garden she saw us）

I was at sea then

I didnt see them

I dont believe what you are saying

It isnt true I hardly knew him

Is this some game that you are playing

Go ask the dancer shes the one who saw him last

The one who drew him here

He hasnt come to me since spring last year

There was a time when he would

Bring me silks and sandalwood and persian lace

（then came another goodbye and another please dont go）

And he would hold me close

And tell my sailing stories by the fireplace

（all night I dance and all day I keep watch with my sorrow）

I was at sea I tell you I was

Nowhere near the mentioned murder place

（searching for sails that dont come

And I guess but I dont know）

Go ask the dancer

She knows the answer

I dont know

She knows the answer

I dont know

She knows the answer

I dont know