Gone, dear

Yeah… I let the screen door slam last Tuesday. The garden hose is still looped like a question mark. But the sun tastes different now. Sweeter. You left your leather jacket on the passenger floor I drove it to the coast and let the salt air take the door I watched it float like a ghost ship out past the breakers’ line And for the first time in forever, baby, the ocean felt like mine And all those little wars we waged in the driveway after dark They just dissolved like sugar cubes… in a glass of Lipton tea So it’s gone, don’t worry babe, my dear That old black cloud finally disappeared Let the vinyl scratch on our favorite song The hummingbird knows when the flower’s done So it’s gone Don’t worry, babe My dear I painted the kitchen yellow like you always said I should Now the morning comes in honey, and it tastes so strangely good Your whiskey glass is holding pens now by the telephone And the silence isn’t lonely—it’s a brand-new stepping stone Remember fighting in the rain about whose turn to drive? Now the rain just smells like jasmine… and a reason to be alive So it’s gone, don’t worry babe, my dear That old black cloud finally disappeared Let the ash drop slow from a Marlboro Red We were only holding hands by a thread And it’s gone Don’t worry, babe My dear But sadness is just a tide, baby. And even the moon has to let go. So go on… be somebody’s wild fire. Me? I’m gonna be the cool, clean water they drink after the dance. Yeah… It’s gone… (don’t worry)… babe My dear The screen door’s not broken… it’s just swingin’ clear And the porch light’s off… but the stars are on You were my lover, now you’re just a song It’s gone Don’t worry, babe My dear