Judy Pearlman was my first serious girlfriend and we had a rather tumultuous time of it. She was totally one of a kind, a lovely, warm, funny, effervescent soul. She deserved a much more upbeat, celebratory song than this, but all that tumult made its way into the lyrics. I did write a ton of poetry for her. We reconnected many times over the years and she is always an absolute delight to spend time with. My greatest reward from listening to this song is that I rely on Alice in Wonderland (my second favorite book; Looking Glass is my first) to close out the choruses.
Lyrics
Aliceblue
When I was invincible I took her hand
Depending on my strength to pull her through
Yielding to the principle, she’d understand
And tell me there was nothing she could do
And when I planned the afternoon activity
She’d wander through as if struck by divinity
‘Til by the dusk I’d find myself at liberty
Though happy that I’d found myself at all
When she talked of sacrifice I burned for her
Expecting her to wait there patiently
When she took her own advice I turned for her
Into what she had wanted me to be
And when she took the cure she was contagious
The hours left for visits were outrageous
And the malady still lingers on to plague us
As she beats her naked body ’til she bleeds
Anything she’d fancy she would do
She called it a fairy tale come true
And for what has disappeared a substitute is due
So she paints the roses aliceblue
After we’d made love a bit, I slept for her
I slept for she was frightened of the deep
After she had finally quit, I wept for her
I wept for she was not the kind to weep
And after she slept on through the morning
I’d waken her with my relentless yawning
And snuggle up beside her just for warming
Sorting out the blankets like my love
When the sun set all too soon she cried for me
She cried for I was too free with my tears
Struck by the magic of the moon, she tried for me
She tried for me but gave in to her fears
If it is a dream I cannot blame her
She left it when the morning came to claim her
At least I know I’ll never go insane here
In her dreams eternally awake
As she rises so she starts in flying
As she combs her hair she starts in crying
For what she has always feared is certain to be true
So she paints the roses aliceblue.