Maria - Janis Ian

Oh, Maria

Your eyes are like a demon lover’s child

and lips of velvet issue invitation

every time you smile

You sucked me in, I must admit

that I was waiting for a sign

Won’t you leave me on the corner

by the light,

because I’m stepping out tonight

Oh, Maria

I envy any man who knows your name

Though once I knew you well

I’m not ashamed to be the one

who drags you down

Your life is like a movie

Like a story pasted up on subway walls

Won’t you leave me something sacred

when you fall?

unless there’s nothing left at all

Your lips are like a faded Spanish rose

and every moment strikes a pose

on every technicolor close

And other women show their teeth,

and schoolboy husbands beg relief,

and empty lovers search the street

Maria

Convince me in the night you know the way

Though every lover brings another

screaming to the light of day

Won’t you leave me by the lamp post

In the haze of your perfume,

night fades away

Won’t you leave me by the lamp post

In the haze of your perfume,

night fades away