|
Let's drink to Isabella |
|
In a room full of repairs |
|
Covering the bruises and scratches |
|
From the wild and restless years |
|
By the time those glasses reach our lips |
|
She'll be wondering why we're here |
|
Confusion works through her mind |
|
Like the light shines through her hair |
|
"I'm beautiful and wonderful" she says |
|
In a fragile voice well aged |
|
"I've lived and learned every word |
|
On ever worn out page |
|
I was once the one you worried about |
|
I was once the girl you craved |
|
Now I'm standing here all by myself |
|
And I don't need to be saved. |
|
Life's long dirty road loved me |
|
And broke this heart in two |
|
I smiled and frowned up and down the town |
|
And hurt my eyes with truth |
|
I found the places where you meet |
|
People who never leave too soon |
|
They wait 'til you're weak, sick |
|
And you sleep in their cold, cold room |
|
I was young when I left home |
|
I wrestled with the winds |
|
I panicked in the nighttime glare |
|
And preyed I'd find a friend |
|
Someone to take me out of this life |
|
Out of these puddles of rain |
|
I trusted anyone in any old slum |
|
Who remembered my name |
|
And I fell for a cold hearted stranger |
|
In May of '59 |
|
He pounded on my frail emotions |
|
Oh, he battered up my mind |
|
But I left him stronger than before |
|
In a pale blue summer dress |
|
And a coat for the cold summer nights |
|
With a "born and die Canadian" crest |
|
I begged for a few whole dollars |
|
Just to get me on a Northland bus |
|
And I traveled as long as I could |
|
Through the greens and rocky rust |
|
And I fell asleep for a long long time |
|
Just hoping for something else |
|
I'd rather be a bum than a slave |
|
In some rich man's rattling house |
|
I lived from couch to couch |
|
Floor to covered porch |
|
I built my life back up |
|
I knew what I was looking for |
|
Some peace and quiet you get from living a certain way |
|
Not saying much, giving just enough |
|
Taking it day by day" |
|
Happy birthday, Isabella |
|
My sister of the west |
|
I never meant to criticize you |
|
Just to give you all my best |
|
I know you're happy, I know you're free |
|
Midnight still gives you its glare |
|
I can learn from your twists and turns |
|
I'll tell you when I'm getting there |
