the place was empty
she knew my name
i kissed her shoulder
she smiled like rain

i wrapped her in flannel
and opened the sky
i became her secret
the reason that she cries

the first frost of the season is a whisper on the wind
like the rumor of her breath on my skin

i’m in the shadow of manhattan
i’m in the shadow of manhattan
i’m in the shadow of manhattan

her words, an orchard
an offer, a caress
her touch like almonds
like silence, like breath

we swam in the bay where she was born
caught in the current, i nearly drowned
she pulled me out and kissed my shoulder
i could only watch as she faded into sound

now the first frost of the season is a whisper on the wind
like the rumor of her breath on my skin

i’m in the shadow of manhattan
i’m in the shadow of manhattan
i’m in the shadow of manhattan

don’t tell her that you saw me
don’t mention me at all
winter’s on the air now
there’s no use thiking about the fall

i’m in the distant
in silent promise not to call
she has already washed
my mark from her wall