Once in a night
I spent in Istanbul
I had a dream of a forbidden world
Where even angels
Fear to look upon
A place where all of love is doomed to die
Her face appeared
Through clouds of bitter wine
Sour as the morning's early hours
She took my hair
And she curled it around
Her fingers
I was but a fool for love
The scent of Turkish oils
Mixed with the harsh tobacco
In the overcrowded bar
Hashish
And cool mint in her hair
I was a fool for love
I was a fool
She sang to me
A torch song softly laced
With mysteries Arabian
It poisoned my mind
A sickness in my soul
I tried
I didn't want to hear at all
A curtain fell
Before my eyes I did
Succumb into her healing breast
She sang that song
I gave her all my soul
And my all
To the pleasures of the flesh
I cried that night
For those forsaken times
Those times when I was
Simply satisfied
I turned to dust
That night a thousand times
That night a thousand times I died inside
And through what's left
Of my sad life I hear
Her singing in the fevers of the night
Look into the mirror of my eyes
And tell me what you see
It's not your love I need
You'll see
Sorrow, tears and darkness
These are the pleasures
Beyond your dreams
The stars were out
That night in Istanbul
I realised that I'd run out of time
You looked into my eyes
What did you see?
You saw a fate worse than a thousand deaths
Waiting for me
I started to run
Up through the old bazaar
In my head the sound of drums
My limbs numb with opium smoke
Pursued by a nightmare
A dream turned nightmare
Passed the perfume seller, animals in cages
Chickens, goats and hungry black flies
Molasses, cumin, stained leather and brass
Through narrow streets
Scheming boys and shrouded girls
To the Blue Mosque with its minarets
Spearing the dusky pink evening sky
The circling gulls screaming
Or is it me
For all I see is her face
Exotic, fatal
Yes, how I was a fool for love
I found myself
Down by the sea
A hundred years ago
When I was in my teens
And years go by
I turned into a man
My childhood trapped within the sand
I crawled through life
On broken glass through hell
It seems I wakened my desires
And woke one day
Wet with the sweat of fear
Wet with the sweat of fear
As now with you
I'll reveal your mother
Come to me
I'll take you to the safety of the womb
Tell me your secrets
Sorrow tears and darkness
Pour out your heart
Sorrow tears and darkness
And hell had never seemed so good
As when I lost my soul
Became a fool for love
Help me, please to find my way
Look into the mirror of my eyes
Your kiss has clouded up my mind
And tell me what you see
I was a fool, a fool for love
It's not your love I need
I cried for those forsaken times
You'll see
She took my soul in Istanbul
Sorrow tears and darkness
She left me on that night to die
These are the pleasures beyond your dreams
These are the pleasures beyond all my dreams
I am lost
Help me to find my way
Here in a world where angels fear to gaze
My love is doomed to die
Alone tonight in Istanbul
And I a fool
For
Love