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Version 1
[Verse 1]
C Am Em Am Dm
Well, the diamond fades quickly when matched to the face of Maria
F G F G C
All the harps they sound empty when she lifts her lips to the sky
C Am Em Am Dm
All the brown of her skin makes her hair seem a soft golden rainfall
F G F G C
That spills from the mountains to the bottomless depths of her eyes
[Verse 2]
C Am Em Am Dm
Well, she stands all around me, her hands slowly sifting the sunshine
F G F G C
All the laughter that linger down deep 'neath her smilin' is free
C Am Em Am Dm
Well, it spins and it twirls like a hummingbird lost in the morning
F G F G C
And caresses the south wind and silently sails to the sea
[Verse 3]
C Am Em Am Dm
Ah, the sculptor stands stricken and the artist he throws 'way his brushes
F G F G C
When her image comes dancin', the sun she turns sullen with shame
C Am Em Am Dm
And the birds they go silent, and the wind stops his sad mournful singing
F G F G C
When the trees of the forest start gently to whisperin' her name
[Verse 4]
C Am Em Am Dm
So as softly she wanders I'll desperately follow her footsteps
F G F G C
And I'll chase after shadows that offer a trace of her sight
C Am Em Am Dm
Ah, they promise eternally that she lies hidden within them
F G F G C
But I find they've deceived me and sadly I bid them goodbye
[Verse 5]
C Am Em Am Dm
So the serpent slides slowly away with his moments of laughter
F G F G C
And the old washerwoman has finished her cleanin' and gone
C Am Em Am Dm
But the bamboo hangs heavy in the bondage of quicksilver daydreams
F G F G C
And a lonely child longingly looks for a place to belong
[Outro]
C Am Em Am Dm
F G F G C