I heard the name Josephine
It came to me in a dream
And I don't usually set too much store by the things
These things might mean

But it was spoken with seriousness
More of a whisper than a scream
So now I'm waiting on some Josephine
To show herself to me

I could have been anyone I imagined I could be
I just needed somebody to wake me from my sleep
I could have been Napoleon, could have been Beethoven
Could have been anyone but uncomfortable me
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me

Come on now Josephine
Give me what I need
I don't like to be needy but needs must
I can't stand being the person that I've been

I'm an impending car crash
And you're the first one on the scene
I'm a defeated commander, I'm a half-deaf composer
I'm a strange name whispered in a dream

I could have been anyone I imagined I could be
I just needed somebody to wake me from my sleep
I could have been Napoleon, could have been Beethoven
Could have been anyone but uncomfortable me
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me

Come on now Josephine, let's pretend it's Halloween
You come as a car crash, I'll go as James Dean
I'm Napoleon on Elba, and you're a hundred days in 1815
I wrote all of these letters to my immortal beloved
And you're the only one who's ever going to know what they mean

Come on now Josephine, wake me from my sleep
I could have been anyone, but I ended up being me
I could have been wide awake, could have been what you need
I wish that I was anyone except for just me
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me