Word Thingys: Salome Strangelove
Oh I have served my share of strangers; learned too many names
They all think they’re different, but they’re pretty much the same
Life’s unkindness and regret, a bitter tale, a heart that breaks
They fall asleep into a bottle and forget to ever wake
I’ve watched you nursin’ at that bourbon like it’s an age-old grudge
Passed down out of avarice from a father to a son
Every slight that ever wronged you sits there simmerin’ in your eyes
You’ve drowned the life out of your soul, somehow that anger never dies
No one can change away the past for you — gotta face the here and now
But for what it’s worth, and what it’s cost you, this one’s on the house
Oh I have served my share of strangers; learned too many names
They all think they’re different, but they’re pretty much the same
Life’s unkindness and regret, a bitter tale, a heart that breaks
They fall asleep into a bottle and forget to ever wake
I see you’ve curled into that highball just a-hoping it can fill
The gin-soaked hole you dug yourself from dying on those hills
Every chance you ever squandered draws a line across your face
All the times you burned out both ends tryin’ just to keep on pace
No one can change away the past for you — gotta face the here and now
But for what it’s worth, and what it’s cost you, this one’s on the house
Oh I have served my share of strangers; learned too many names
They all think they’re different, but they’re pretty much the same
Life’s unkindness and regret, a bitter tale, a heart that breaks
They fall asleep into a bottle and forget to ever wake
Caught sight of you a time or two, alone there at the end
Throwing back shot after shot; salt and lime your only friends
You shake your head against the shadows and you argue with your ghosts
Guard that corner like a sentinel afraid to leave your post
And, no, I can’t change the past for you — gotta face the here and now
Still, for what it’s worth, and what it’s cost you, this one’s on the house
Maybe I should up and close here; set these prisoners free
Forget all of my own mistakes, the sorrow and debris
But every time I’ve tried to slide across into that no man’s land
I’m reminded of the things I’ve learned I’ll never understand
Oh and I have served too many strangers; learned too many names
They all think they’re different, but they’re pretty much the same
Life’s unkindness and regret, a bitter tale, a heart that breaks
They fall asleep into a bottle and forget to ever wake