[Verse 1]
Old Basotho man in a woven coat
Stokely Maloti held the throne
King in the morning, prime minister by noon
But home was a house with an empty room
She came from Mauritania
Salt on her tongue, gold in her laugh
Three hundred pounds and a regal walk
Now he counts her shoes by the bedpost rack
[Pre-Chorus]
He stares at the chair
He won't move from there
Saying, "If I had spoken plain
Would she still be here today?"
[Chorus]
Too late, too late
My mouth is a stone
Too late, too late
Now I sit alone
I should have said, slow down
I should have said, stay strong
Now the praise comes bitter
When the woman is gone
[Verse 2]
He remembers the market cloth
Her bangles bright on a copper wrist
The bread she broke with laughing hands
The way she turned away his wish
He told himself it was love
But love grew sharp, then hard as tin
Every old man's careful words
Can cut like rain on a windowpan
[Pre-Chorus]
Now anger rides high
And grief won't lie down
He spits at the mirror
Then turns around
[Chorus]
Too late, too late
My mouth is a stone
Too late, too late
Now I sit alone
I should have said, slow down
I should have said, stay strong
Now the praise comes bitter
When the woman is gone
[Bridge]
He wants her shadow back in the hall
He wants one more call, one more call
But the night keeps her name in its teeth
And lays his regret at his feet
[Final Chorus]
Too late, too late
My mouth is a stone
Too late, too late
Now I sit alone
I should have said, slow down
I should have said, stay strong
Now the praise comes bitter
When the woman is gone