Lift Up Your Eyes, Magdalene

Oh Magdalene, eyes follow you
But still you walk alone
The words that people throw at you
They might as well be stone
And what makes them so hard to bear
Is that you know you deserve to die
Beneath a shower of rocks right there
And you know why
Oh Magdalene, the rumors fly
Much faster than the truth
They mark with a suspicious eye
The follies of your youth
The reason that they dig so deep
Is that they in some respects are true
You would be a refuse heap
Now wouldn’t you?

Refrain:
But you are safely covered in a robe of whitest white
Your God does not regard you as a woman of the night
And all the murky shadows of your past cannot be seen
So lift up your eyes, Magdalene

Oh Magdalene, the devils come
Sometimes in human form
To plague your night and beat their drum
And leave you tired and torn
The reason that you’re kept awake
Is that once upon a time you danced
To rhythms of your great mistake
As one entranced

Refrain

But you are safely covered in a robe of whitest white
Your God does not regard you as a woman of the night
And all the murky shadows of your past cannot be seen
So lift up your eyes, Magdalene

Author: Jennifer Jill Schwirzer