In the shadow of Modigliani The German punkers lie Each with a dog, on a bit of string And filling half the sky The Koln Cathedral offers calm And quiet expectations And then Elvis lit a candle on my day of revelations Threw out a wish on a long piece of string Felt a gentle tug and then pulled it in Kept it in my hand 'til I reached the ground Climbed up, brought it down on Ascension day Didn't know how many steps, enough to make me sweat I pressed my face against the screen To be closer to the wind The climb left stone, for iron stairs That ended short of heaven And it seemed the perfect place for prayer On the day of my ascension Threw out a wish on a long piece of string Felt a gentle tug and then pulled it in, pulled it in Kept it in my hand 'til I reached the ground Climbed up, brought it down on Ascension day, Ascension day Drifted through a door To a room reserved for prayer Grateful for the silence I turned my thoughts to you And they landed on your body As they very often do Wingtips fanned and stretched For the guilding on the dome I lit a prayer on borrowed flame And sent my love back home, home Threw out a wish on a long piece of string Felt a gentle tug and then pulled it in, pulled it in Kept it in my hand 'til I reached the ground Climbed up, brought it down Threw out a wish on a long piece of string Felt a gentle tug and then pulled it in Kept it in my hand 'til I reached the ground Climbed up, brought it down on Ascension day Ascension day Ascension day Hey lee-ayy-yaay