The first time I had to look away.
Shocked and scared, he silenced me.
The first time he spoke it was music,
The sweetest sound I had ever heard, but I
Can’t remember a word he said.
Confused am I to know…
Why with all his tattoos which are more
Than his skin is bare
Running up his neck and down his thigh.
And his body thinner than I’ll ever be
Is he the coolest thing I have ever seen?
Smooth like ice and fly like wings.
The coolest thing I have every seen.

My mama means the world to me, so I know
That she would never approve
Of the way his eyes are never open so we can see the blue
But neither does he shut them tight to keep away the sun.
I can hear her say, “Baby, why, with his hair blacker
Than it’s natural hue, and his voice colder than the sea,
Is he the coolest thing you have ever seen?”
Mama, he’s that fresh sweet blanket that covers me:
The coolest thing I have ever seen.

Did you see the way he beat his chest like a tribal drum,
Like the rhythm of my heart?
The lyrics flow from his soul to mine unknowingly
And people still ask me, “Why with his ascent from
So far away and his style so slow and tiring
Does he make you weak, so helplessly?”
So scared, so lost. I could fall in love.
The coolest thing I have ever seen.
Smooth like ice and fly like wings.
The coolest thing I’ve ever seen.