So Quickly Gone

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So Quickly Gone
lyrics and melody © 2005 by H. Paul Shuch

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While sitting in the tavern where I go to pass my days
Smoking cigarettes and drinking all alone,
It's there that I first saw her walking slowly through the haze,
Just the sweetest sight my eyes had ever known.
She walked up to my table, and my heart just skipped a beat
When she whispered, "stranger, would you like to dance?"
I knocked my bottle over as I scrambled to my feet
Thinking this could be the start of a romance,
A fine romance.

Chorus:

I loved her through the evening and I held her through the night,
Looking forward to the breaking of the dawn.
I wanted so to see her smiling by the day's first gentle light,
But when I turned for just an instant, she was gone,
So quickly gone.

We danced about an hour to a rockabilly band,
The only couple out upon the floor,
And when the band was done and the musicians left the stand
I fed the jukebox and we danced a little more.
I asked if she was thirsty, and she looked into my eyes,
Saying, "maybe I could have a drink or two."
I asked if she was hungry, and much to my surprise
She said "a little bit, but not as much as you,
As much as you."

Chorus

We went back to the table and I ordered her a beer.
It's the least that any gentleman could do.
And then she looked right through me, her expression kinda queer,
And all at once, I realized she knew.
"So you're the one I've heard about," she said so tenderly,
And she reached across and took me by the hand.
It made me start remembering of all that could not be,
And, all at once, I knew she'd understand,
She'd understand.

Chorus

We walked out my trailer and the moonlight bathed her face
As her serious expression made me smile.
She said, "you know I can't stay long. But maybe there's a place
In my heart for you, for just a little while.
There's nothing I can say or do to ever bring them back.
Though I can't replace your children and your wife,
I can bring a little light into a world that's turning black,
And maybe give some meaning to your life,
Your gentle life."

Chorus

I went back to the tavern and resumed my empty days,
Filled with little more than cigarettes and beer.
I sometimes thought I saw her walking slowly through the haze,
And a time or two, it even brought a tear.
And then one day I felt her there, behind me, to the right.
Her fingers brushed my cheek, as if by chance,
And before she stepped out slowly from the shadows to the light,
She whispered, "stranger, would you maybe like to dance
Another dance?"

Final Chorus:

And now I love her every evening and I hold her through the night,
Sleeping by her side until the break of dawn.
And every day I see her smiling by the day's first gentle light,
And I marvel at how fast the years have gone,
So quickly gone.

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