Lyrics: 10,000 Maniacs. In My Tribe. The Painted Desert.

The painted desert can wait till summer
We've played this game of 'just imagine' long enough, wait till summer
When I'm sure the rain has ended, the blooms have gone
Everyone killed by the morning frost
Is a cactus blooming there in every roadside stand
Where the big deal this cowboy gear sewn in Japan?

The painted desert can wait till summer
We've played this game of just imagine long enough, wait till summer
When I'm sure the rain has ended the blooms have gone
Everyone killed by the morning frost
Is a cactus blooming there upon the northern rim
Or in the ruins of the Hopi Mesa dens?

You met a new friend in the Canyon or so you wrote
On a blanket in the cooling sand you and your friend agreed
That the stars were so many there, they seemed to overlap

The painted desert can wait till summer
We've played this game of just imagine long enough, wait till summer
When I am sure the rain has ended, the blooms have gone
Everyone killed by the morning frost
Was a cactus blooming there as you watched the native boy?
In a flagstaff trailor court, you wrote the line
'He kicked a tumbleweed and his mother called him home
Where the Arizona moon met the Arizona sun'

I wanted to be there by may at the latest time
Isn't that the plan we had or have you changed your mind?
I haven't read a word from you since Phoenix or Tucson
April is over will you tell me how long before I can be there?