BAMBARA - Serafina Lyrics

Sadie saw smoke curling up from the trees
Put on her coat and went outside to see
A girl was feeding leaves and branches
To a pile of burning debris and dancing
Sadie said, "Got a nice fire tonight
What's your name, if you don't mind?"
She said, "My name is Serafina
But people call me Sera to save some time"
"Well, I've got all the time in the world"
Sadie grabbed a stick and lit it while the girl
Said she'd been committed as a child
Discovered her love for fire, ran wild
In the asylum was a charming arson
Who broke out with his girl and started
Burning through Georgia like a moonstruck Sherman
Sera knew what she wanted for sure then
"People are who they are," she said
"And I want their kind of love
Where you're bad together and it's good"
Sadie said, "Let me grab some wood and booze
See if we can't keep this thing alive till noon"

Serafina
Shoots Roman candles all around
Serafina
Smiling with matches in her mouth
Serafina
Wears a bright blazing crown of flowers and down
Serafina
Smell of gasoline in her hair
Serafina
Cinders glow as she blows cool air
Serafina
In her stare burns a solar flare

Months went by and they were happy
Setting fire to trashed mattresses
Cars with tickets on their dashes
Mannequins scattered in tattered masses
Through the rundown mall
They'd take pictures for their book
Rubbing the ash and the soot
On each other's skin till it turned gray
And pose like dying lovers from Pompeii
In an overgrown lot
They fucked till it got too hot
Lying on top of a burning blanket
They hopped up and stood there naked
Smoking cigarettes and coughing
Sera threw her lighter in, heard it popping
"We gotta keep it up, Sadie, no stopping
We gotta keep it up, Sadie, we're not stopping"
They watched as the wind caught
The fire spread a little further and died off
Sadie said, "I'm gonna buy us an old house in a big town
Where we can start a life and burn it all to the ground"

Serafina
Shoots Roman candles all around
Serafina
Smiling with matches in her mouth
Serafina
Wears a bright blazing crown of flowers and down
Serafina
Throws firecrackers at their feet
Serafina
They start dancing, dancing while they sing
Serafina
Throws her dress in the flames
Serafina
Black sequins writhing, black sequins shine
Serafina
They sing, "We'll never die"
Serafina
"We'll burn and cry, we'll never die"