Pete Atkin sings
Suit Of Lights
by Clive James and Pete Atkin,
originally performed by Pete Atkin with Steve Cook (bass fiddle)
at the Footlights smoker "Passing Fair", 27th October 1967

This version is a new demo, recorded Bristol May 2025
[Much more at www.peteatkin.com]
LYRIC:

What did I see? I saw wonders
The water was wine and the battlements reeled
I saw brittle prisms crack up in the rain
And the hail in the grain
Was a giant window broken in the field

How did I feel? Like a hero
The bread that I threw on the water came home
I cashed in my chips and I reaped what I sowed
The show was on the road
And all the roads were rolling into Rome

What did I hear? I heard secrets
The unwritten codewords of love and command
When a flower said Go the whole bunch opened slowly
And in the fall of snow
The first flakes talked the others down to land

When did I know? From the outset
I knew from the onset, the jump, and the gun
A thousand prows kissed the water
As though she was somebody's daughter
And a rainbow spun out of the crumbling sun

How did I lose? By a lightyear
A long chalk, an epoch, an era, an age
And the birds slowed down and stopped over the park
And the children grew older
The cold weather colder
And from ankle to shoulder
My suit of lights went dark