Natalie of Bath Beach, Brooklyn, 1953
la belle dame sans merci
Natalie gave herself to every boy but me
Natalie, Natalie, la belle dame sans merci
I turned the age thirteen, in nineteen fifty-three
The rage, torrent of blood in my veins
Raging my arteries
Natalie, Natalie gave herself to every boy but me
Natalie, la belle dame sans merci
Gentle waves lapped the rocks of Gravesend Bay alee
Gulls swept up the wind and turned, drifted toward the sea
Natalie gave herself to every boy,
Every boy but me
La belle dame, la belle dame sans merci
Yes, there was a date, a date etched in memory
The Loews Oriental, I took her hand From Here to Eternity
I touched her shoulder in the dark,
Touched her neck she turned away from me,
The waves lapped up the misty shore, drifted toward the sea,
She placed her hand, her ivory hand on someone else’s knee,
Stalked my dreams, branded my dreams From Here to Eternity
Deborah Kerr wrapped her thighs, clung to the man, drifted out to sea
Natalie gave herself to every boy
Every boy but me
La belle dame, la belle dame sans merci
I walk along the shore now
Cuffs roll my ankle, roll up to my knee,
Lashed to the mast as Sirens call
Call from the misty sea,
Helen of Troy, Magdalene
The gray mist of the sea
The dreams of youth, the lies, the truth
Drift away from me
O Natalie still gives herself
To every boy but me