I prune the Hedera helix vine
Where gray stone walls and ivy twine
I see him crouched beneath the ledge
A ragged ghost on the terrace edge
Oh the zinc roof hides the stray
Watching Paris fade to gray
Galloping heart in a heavy chest
A hunting hound in a concrete nest
His paws are stained with a muddy brown
A lonely king in a limestone town
I bring him water in a clay bowl
To soothe the ache of a wanderer's soul
Oh the zinc roof hides the stray
Watching Paris fade to gray
Galloping heart in a heavy chest
A hunting hound in a concrete nest
He smells the scent of the distant pine
While I tend to the jasmine line
He dreams of forests and a morning chase
Far from the smog of this crowded place
Oh the zinc roof hides the stray
Watching Paris fade to gray
Galloping heart in a heavy chest
A hunting hound in a concrete nest
The soil is rich and the roots are deep
While the city falls fast asleep
He lets out a howl to the velvet night
Under the glow of a streetlamp light
Scent of the loam and the wet summer air
A wild kind of longing a heavy despair
One last look at the rooftops of blue
A bond in the garden that feels honest and true
I plant the seeds of a new design
Where the wild dog and the botanist align
He leans his head on my weathered knee
Under the shade of a lemon tree
Oh the zinc roof hides the stray
Watching Paris fade to gray
Galloping heart in a heavy chest
A hunting hound in a concrete nest
Zinc roof, red clay, cold rain.
Stay here now, end the pain.
Stay here now.
