Outside I can hear the fireworks Beyond the paper walls Where the symbols painted black and white Run together when the rain falls And the wind chimes across Kyoto Each time the earth moves Was it the quake that shook me Or was it something to do with you
And the hot wind heats the bamboo blinds And your almond eyes always shine Sitting cool behind your painted fan All the secrets of the east Conceal the beauty and the beast For tender is the man in her Japanese hands
Flesh on silk looks different Than on a cotton sheet back home Where no one wears their hair like yours Beneath those oriental combs And with your thirsty fingers Running up and down my spine You forget the western woman When you're sleeping on Kyoto time
And the sky explodes and the moon grows cold To the distant sound of drums And the sky explodes And the moon grows cold As the dragons on the mainland Wait to heat the sun
