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