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Five in the afternoon
words: Robert Campbell
music: Theo Jaskolkowski
images: Ciento y... Postalicas a:

Hot, black summer night
Naked in the moonlight
Taste of dust, taste of wine
Feeling like the whole world is mine

I've danced to the beating of my heart in the ring
I've danced to the song the spectators sing
I've danced when the bull has looked me in the eye
And I'll keep on dancing until I die

And I'm watching the shadows creep away
Taking a look back at the past
How I lived each passing day
As though it would be the last
I hear a voice inside me say

Oh Boy, you lived your life too fast
Then I hear the trumpets play

Five in the afternoon
Such a sad and lonely tune
Five in the afternoon

In a hotel room, on a single bed
The seven words that the gipsy said
Haunting me as I dress for the fight
Wonder if I'm coming back tonight

And I'm dancing to the beating of my heart in the ring
I'm dancing to the song the spectators sing
I'm dancing when the bull looks me in the eye
And I'm still dancing when I die

And I'm watching the shadows creep away
Taking a look back at the past
How I lived each passing day
As though it would be the last
I hear a voice inside me say
Oh Boy, you lived your life too fast
Then I hear the trumpets play
Five in the afternoon
Such a sad and lonely tune

Five in the afternoon
Such a sad and lonely tune
I never thought I would hear it so soon
Five in the Afternoon



 

The title of this song comes from the first line of the Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías, one of Lorca's most famous poems that tells of the death of the bullfighter. The song was written after watching several bullfighting films and documentaries that Theo had. This was the first Lorca song we wrote. The pictures are from the exhibition Ciento y... Postalicas a: in which different artists were asked to create a postcard using the same portrait of Lorca taken between 1915 and 1916.