Violent orphan Annie found the portal to another world on the playground

Beneath the first brave sliver of approaching daylight

At the end of another long, lonely summer

Spent by the swing set, next to the railroad tracks

And the bones of four peregrine falcons

Murdered by the wolves of the world;

We all watched in sheer amazement

As a great stampede of elephants

Jumped off the eternal hamster wheel of our reality

Onto every inhabited land mass on this planet

Killing everything in its path

The air was ripe with blood, smoke, ashes, waste

And a deafening ensemble of moans

See that little old man over there behind that

Surly 1940s teleportal-to-the-wirral motor vehicle?

I don't believe I know him;

But I do

He says

"These are the lands where all great love goes to die

Come along old friend, I'll show you around

We'll go back to Paradiso

This is a river; a river of flying wood

These were all trees. Can you imagine?

Over there on your right, you'll see a great sea of humans

And large wild mammals flying into a big black hole

There goes Alice, gown and bracelet gone

She knows everybody, but no one knows her;

Do you?"

Tonight, I'll dream of my first love

Racing in the snow;

Hot chocolate and cinnamon buns

And sweet laughter

I could hear his heart beating

Under his thick coat

We went home, and watched the sky

Open on television

I could hear his heart beating

Under everything

Our ships landed in Brooklyn

Under a late summer sunset

I could hear his heart beating

What a strange man-child;

But what a time

Let's go

Back to Paradiso