I come fresh from the street, fast on my feet, kind a lean and lazy; not much meat on my bones, and a whole lot alone, and more than a little bit crazy. The old six string was all I had to keep my belly still, and for each full hour lesson I gave I got a crisp ten dollar bill.
She was married for seven years to a concrete castle king. She said she wanted to learn to play the guitar and to hear her children sing. So I'd show up about once a week in my faded tight-legged jeans with a backlog full of hobo stories and dilapidated dreams.
She said, "I wanna learn a love song full of happy things." She said, "I wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?" She said, "I wanna learn a love song, I wanna hear you play." She said, "I wanna learn a love song before you go away."
So I tried to teach her a couple of chords and an easy melody; but it always turned out she'd rather listen to my guitar and me. I could hear her old man laughing in the den, playing stud poker with the boys while I sang so soft in the living room, to scared to make much noise. I came one week and the den was dark and she met me at the door. And we sat on the couch and we sang and talked till I could not sing no more. The silence kept on building, her eyes grew much too wide; and I could her both of our heartbeats, but there was no place to hide.
She said, "I wanna learn a love song full of happy things." She said, "I wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?" She said, "I wanna learn a love song, I wanna hear you play." She said, "I wanna learn a love song before you go away."
Well, I guess you know what happened, God, I never been so clean. Yes, I feel like I'm working in a Hollywood movie or living out a good bad dream. And all them pinup girls in that tinsel world never touched me like she can; it took another man's wife in the real world life to make this boy a man.
She said, "I wanna learn a love song full of happy things." She said, "I wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?" She said, "I wanna learn a love song, I wanna hear you play." She said, "I wanna learn a love song before you go away." I guess you know I stayed.