"Sixteen Summers, Fifteen Falls" lyrics - TOWNES VAN ZANDT

Let me tell you a story 'bout a girl I knew
Fairest skin with eyes of blue
I swear to the lord that I loved her true
It's a year now she's been gone

Well her spirit was as bright as the soft sunshine
Lips the color of strawberry wine
I wish to God she still was mine
But the chance won't come again

After first we lay in love's sweet bed
With one look at her eyes I might have read
All the pain that was flyin' through her head
Through my guilt I could not see

Oh, I turned to her when the mornin' came
Hungry thoughts racin' through my brain
But the knife in her heart screamed herself she'd slain
And a note whispered love too soon

Oh her old man screamed and her mother cried
All I could do was to wonder why
A girl in her youth was forced to die
Is lovin' such a crime?

She died (few in years) with breasts still small
Seeing sixteens summers and fifteen falls
Me and my blindness never realized all
The fear she kept inside

Let me tell you a story 'bout a girl I knew
Fairest skin with eyes of blue
I swear to the lord that I loved her true