Strange Affair Lyrics

(Richard Thompson) This is a strange affair The time has come to travel but the road is filled with fear This is a strange affair My youth has all been wasted and I'm bent and grey with years And all my companions are taken away And who will provide for me against my dying day I took my own provision, but it fooled me and wasted away Oh where are my companions? My mother, father, lover, friend, and enemy Where are my companions? They're prisoners of death now, and taken far from me And where are the dreams I dreamed in the days of my youth They took me to illusion when they promised me the truth And what do sleepers need to make them listen, Why do they need more proof? This is a strange, this is a strange affair Won't you give me an answer? Why is your heart so hard towards the one who loves you best? When the man with the answer Has wakened you, and warned you, and called you to the test Wake up from your sleep that builds like clouds upon your eyes And win back the life you had that's now a dream of lies Turn your back on yourself and if you follow, You'll win the lover's prize This is a strange, this is a strange affair