She was sixteen and six feet tall
In a crowd of teenagers comin' out of the zoo
She stumbled, started to slip and fall
Teeter-tottered on the top of patent leather shoes
I happened to catch her and said
"Maybe these ruby shoes are a little cumbersome for you"
Maybe for you, now
But not as shaky as I must have seemed
Talkin' junk through her giggle, little teenage dream
And on the phone I could not compete
My dumb luck, fake competence was gettin' weak
For a sec I thought I sounded sweet
But sure enough in a gruff, faint voice
I heard myself speak
I could stay a while but sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke but one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we could share a kiss but I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home but I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone, leave you alone, now
I'm beginnin' to like you
So you probably won't get what I'm going to do
I'm walkin' away from you
It probably don't make much sense to you
But I'm tryin' to save you
From all of the things that I'll probably say or do
I'll probably do
I could stay a while but sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke but one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we might share a kiss but I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home but I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone, leave you alone, now
You'll probably call me a fool
And say I'm doin' exactly what a coward would do
An' I'm beginnin' to like you
It's a shame, what a lame way to live but what can I do?
I hope you appreciate what I do
I'm a martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you