I conceived my own penitentiary
I dreamt the padded walls and a million locks
But not one of the keys
Oh, St. Michael in peril of the sea
In all your breathtaking beauty
I'm as hopeless as the high tide crossing
To the mainland just out of reach
I concede, her demons live on in me
I daren't even dip a toe in that treacherous sea
Out of fear I'll drown
Won't St. Michael come look for me now?
Her ghost is holding my head down
And pulling at the hook in the side of my mouth
God, just let me out
Oh, this is anything but living
And I feel everything but alive
Take me back to that prairie highway
And lay me on the saline flats tonight