arizona

written by Judy Collins/ The Judy Collins Publishing Company (ASCAP) or The

Wildflowers Company/Admin by Universal Music Corp (ASCAP) when noted.

I danced in the desert when I was but twenty

I sang to mirages, made love to the wind

I climbed the blue ridges above the red sunsets

I walked and I wandered, I prayed and I sinned

I drank from the springs where the secrets were hidden

I spoke with the healers, knelt under their wings

My heart hollowed out to a whistling whisper

That spoke to me only of winter and spring

Arizona of starlight and tumbleweed

Where antelope climb the ravine

You healed all the wounds that were hidden

And left them for all to be seen

The chimes in the wind and the songs in the twilight

The feel of soft sand and the fingers of dawn

The feathers of light in the windows of heaven

The hush of their songs as they climbed and were gone

Back here in the desert I see myself flying

Out of the canyons where I was so free

Gathering speed as I raced to tomorrow

Remembering the songs of the wind and the sea

Arizona of starlight and tumbleweed

Where antelope climb the ravine

You healed all the wounds that were hidden

And left them for all to be seen

Where all of the dreams of the searchers are hidden

Where all of the shards of the broken hearts bleed

I wait in the dawn for the hand I was given

Before I could know where the canyons would lead

The colors still shimmer like silk in the water

No matter how far my heart flies

My dark years are gone and the old dreams move on

But I see the moonlight still clear in your eyes

The love of my life came late in the journey

The promise, the jewel, the prize

And now on the desert the cactus are blooming

Their colors light up the wide skies

Arizona of starlight and tumbleweed

Where antelope climb the ravine

You healed all the wounds that were hidden

And left them for all to be seen

I ride along now to the dawn on the mesa

That shows me the cactus that waits in repose

Flowering only in spring like the lilies

Blossoming after the blizzards and snows

And I can see clearly the promise they made me

When raising their eyes to the dawn

That none of the magic is done

That everything sings and moves on

And all that’s forgiven is gone

Arizona of starlight and tumbleweed

Where antelope climb the ravine

You healed all the wounds that were hidden

And nothing forgiven is gone

Where all of the dreams of the searchers are hidden

Where all of the shards of the broken hearts lay

I wait in the dawn for the hand I was given

And finally I knew what the canyons would say

You must fly from the winter to May

You must fly from the past into today