At the Beginning of Time - Jane Siberry

at the beginning of time

before there were waves

we’d sit in our boats

we’d float there all day

and there weren’t any waves

cuz there wasn’t any wind

cuz there wasn’t any sun

we were waiting for the world to begin

we were waiting in the darkness

we were waiting in the darkness

each of us in our own boat

each of us in our own thoughts

sometimes you could hear people talking amongst themselves

(someone had a boat with wheels and i said

you’re a bit early but I know how you feel)

but mostly it was just silence

the silence only broken by the absence of the clinking of the masts

and every now and then a bird would not fly by and someone would look up and say — what wasn’t that?

we were waiting in the darkness

we were waiting in the darkness

one night (or was it day?)

i was awoken from a dream

i was dreaming of someplace like I’d never been

and i heard someone say

someone’s fallen in and they can’t swim

so i leaned out and i, i pulled them in and he was holding his head

and it was HUGE and shaped like a fish

and he slid down to the crook of the keel

and when i was sure he’d fallen asleep

i fell back to my reverie

we were waiting waiting waiting

we were waiting in the darkness

you know what i think i miss most about that time?

was the quality of the blackness

it was soft somehow in the absence of fear

you could take it into your mouth

and send it out through your teeth

(my dear)

but the silence…

oh, if, if i could go back to those times

i’d take that silence there

i’d take it into myself and bring it back to you

and this is what i’d say

we were waiting in the darkness

at the beginning of time

before there were waves

we’d sit in our boats

we’d float there all day

and there weren’t any waves

cuz there wasn’t any wind

cuz there wasn’t any sun

we were waiting for the world to begin

we were waiting for the world to begin

now…

no.