the screen is so lonely tonight

Marilyn Monroe/Neon And Waltzes
~written and performed by Nanci Griffith

The sun will stop shinin'
Hearts will stop poundin'
The screen is so lonely tonight
The men are out prayin'
The women are sayin'
She died for the loss of her prime
And lived on DiMaggio time

(chorus)
Farewell you old tinsel city
With your waltz in the mornin'
and your neon at night
I've bathed in your loneliness
Drank of your wine
I lived on DiMaggio time

Hearts felled to paradise still rest in her eyes
She was no fading light

Hot night in August
So Long to the Goddess
"America's fatherless child"*
Immortal forever
That Queen of the camera
The master of winkin' a smile
And leaving her shadow behind

(chorus twice)

*"America's fatherless child" quote from Norman Mailer's book, Marilyn.