Retrospective

The words had all been spoken
And somehow the feeling still wasn't right
And still we continued on through the night
Tracing our steps from the beginning
Until they vanished into the air
Trying to understand how our lives has led us there

Looking hard into your eyes
There was nobody i'd ever known
Such an empty surprise to feel so alone

Now for me some words come easy
But i know that they don't mean that much
Compared with the things that are said when lovers touch
You never knew what i loved in you
I don't know what you loved in me
Maybe the picture of somebody you were hoping i might be

Awake again i can't pretend and i know i'm alone
And close to the end of the feeling we've known

How long have i been sleeping
How long have i been drifting alone through the night
How long have i been dreaming i could make it right
If i closed my eyes and tried with all my might
To be the one you need

Awake again i can't pretend and i know i'm alone
And close to the end of the feeling we've known

How long have i been sleeping
How long have i been drifting alone through the night
How long have i been running for that morning flight
Through the whispered promises and the changing light
Of the bed where we both lie
Late for the sky

Well i've been out walking
I don't do that much talking these days
These days--
These days i seem to think a lot
About the things that i forgot to do
For you
And all the times i had the chance to

And i had a lover
It's so hard to risk another these days
These days--
Now if i seem to be afraid
To live the life i have made in song
Well it's just that i've been losing so long

I'll keep on moving
Things are bound to be improving these days
These days--
These days i sit on corner stones
And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend
Don't confront me with my failures
I had not forgotten them

Well i'm a-running down the road trying to loosen my load
I've got seven women on my mind
Four that want to own me, two that want to stone me
One says she's a friend of mine

Take it easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand and take it easy

Well i'm a-standin' on the corner in winslow, arizona
With such a fine sight to see
It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me

Come on baby, don't say maybe
I've got to know if your sweet love is gonna save me
We may lose and we may win
But we will never be here again
Open up i'm climbin' in to take it easy

Well i'm a-running down the road trying to loosen my load
Got a world of trouble on my mind
Lookin' for a lover who won't blow my cover
She's just a little hard to find
Take it easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Come on baby, don't say maybe
I've got to know if your sweet love is gonna save me

You know we got it easy
We oughta take it easy

I'm going to rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway
I'm going to pack my lunch in the morning
And go to work each day
And when the evening rolls around
I'll go on home and lay my body down
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I'll get up and do it again
Amen
Say it again
Amen

I want to know what became of the changes
We waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater awakening
I've been aware of the time going by
They say in the end it's the wink of an eye
And when the morning light comes streaming in
You'll get up and do it again
Amen

Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender
Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring
And the junk man pounds his fender
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls the pretender
He knows that all his hopes and dreams
Begin and end there

Ah the laughter of the lovers
As they run through the night
Leaving nothing for the others
But to choose off and fight
And tear at the world with all their might
While the ships bearing their dreams
Sail out of sight

I'm going to find myself a girl
Who can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams
And then we'll put out dark glasses on
And we'll make love until our strength is gone
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again
Get it up again

I'm going to be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender
And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy
Thought true love could have been a contender
Are you there?
Say a prayer for the pretender
Who started out so young and strong
Only to surrender

She was a friend to me when i needed one
Wasn't for her i don't know what i'd done
She gave me back something that was missing in me
She could of turned out to be almost anyone
Almost anyone--
With the possible exception
Of who i wanted her to be

Running into the midnight
With her clothes whipping in the wind
Reaching into the heart of the darkness
For the tenderness within
Stumblin' into the lights of the city
And then back in the shadows again
Hanging onto the laughter
That each of us hid our unhappiness in

Talk about celestial bodies
And your angels on the wing
She wasn't much good at stickin' around--but
She could sing...

In the dead of night
She could shine a light
On some places that you've never been
In that kind of light
You could lose your sight
And believe there was something to win
You could hold her tight
With all your might
But she'd slip through your arms like the wind
And be back in flight
Back into the night
Where you might never see her again

The longer i thought i could find her
The shorter my vision became
Running in circles behind her
And thinking in terms of the blame
But she couldn't have been any kinder
If she'd come back and tried to explain
She wasn't much good a saying goodbye--but
That girl was sane

It was a ruby that she wore
On a chain around her neck
In the shape of a heart
In the shape of a heart
It was a time i won't forget
For the sorrow and regret
And the shape of a heart
And the shape of a heart
I guess i never knew
What she was talking about
I guess i never knew
What she was living without

People speak of love don't know what they're thinking of
Wait around for the one who fits just like a glove
Speak in terms of belief and belonging
Try to fit some name to their longing
People speak of love

There was a hole left in the wall
From some ancient fight
About the size of a fist
Or something thrown that had missed
And there were other holes as well
In the house where our nights fell
Far too many to repair
In the time that we were there

People speak of love don't know what they're thinking of
Reach out to each other though the push and shove
Speak in terms of a life and the learning
Try to think of a word for the burning

You keep it up
You try so hard
To keep a life from coming apart
And never know
What breaches and faults are concealed
In the shape of a heart

It was the ruby that she wore
On a stand beside the bed
In the hour before dawn
When i knew she was gone
And i held it in my hand
For a little while
And dropped it into the wall
Let it go, heard it fall

I guess i never knew
What she was talking about
I guess i never knew
What she was living without
People speak of love don't know what they're thinking of
Wait around for the one who fits just like a glove
Speak in terms of a life and the living
Try to find the word for forgiving

You keep it up
You try so hard
To keep a life from coming apart
And never know
The shallows and the unseen reefs
That are there from the start
In the shape of a heart