And the orange poppies bloomed on the hillside,
The wisteria on the vine,
And the sky got blue and the grass became greener
And the whole world smelled of lemon and pine.

He shared all the beautiful things in his head
As through the fields we would stroll,
And I learned to tell what's alive and what's dead,
I learned that I had a soul.
He said he was running away from the past
And searching for what he must be,
And I kept hoping that maybe at last
His search had ended with me.

And the orange poppies bloomed on the hillside,
The wisteria on the vine,
And the sky got blue and the grass became greener
And the whole world smelled of lemon and pine.

How the lupine and daisies all covered the plains
Till this fellow showed up one day;
He wore black leather trousers and bracelets and chains
And he took him back to L.A.
The letters I sent were later returned---
They were letters he never had read---
For the following spring I finally learned
He had put a gun to his head.

And the orange poppies bloomed on the hillside,
The wisteria on the vine,
And the sky got blue and the grass became greener
And the whole world smelled of lemon and pine.