Hello honey it's me.....what did you think when you heard me back on the radio.......
Heard W.O.L.D. on the radio today and oh how the memories flooded back. Was fortunate enough to have seen Harry live twice, and still to this day, no offense Dylan fans, but Harry was the best storyteller ever. In the first of what may prove to be several entries I offer you the lyric to my favorite of his stories. I would call them songs but they are so much more. This is called A Better Place To Be and you can hear it among the music in my trackz (hint hint) lol.
A Better Place To Be
It was an early morning bar room,
And the place just opened up.
And the little man come in so fast and
Started at his cup,
And the broad who served the whiskey
She was a big old friendly girl,
Who tried to fight her empty nights
By smilin' at the world.
And she said "Hey Bub, It's been awhile
Since you've been around,
Where the hell you been hiding,
And why you look so down?"
Well the little man just sat there like he'd never heard a sound.
The waitress she gave out with a cough,
And acting not the least put off,
She spoke once again.
She said, "I don't want to bother you,
Consider it understood,
And I know I'm not no beauty queen,
But I sure can listen good."
Well the little man took his drink in his hand
And he raised it to his lips,
He took a couple of sips,
And then he told the waitress this story.
"I am the midnight watchman down at Miller's Tool and Die.
And as I watch the metal rustin', and I watch the time go by.
A week ago at the diner I stopped to get a bite.
And this here lovely lady she sat two seats from my right.
And Lord, Lord, Lord she was alright.
"You see, she was so damn beautiful that she could warm a winter's frost.
But she was long past lonely, and well nigh on to lost.
Now I'm not much of a mover, or a pick-em-up easy guy,
But I decided to glide on over, and give her one good try.
And Lord, Lord, Lord she was worth a try.
"Well I was tongued-tied like a school boy, I stammered out some words.
It did not seem to matter much, 'cause I don't think she heard.
She just looked clear on through me to a space back in my head.
And it shamed me into silence, as quietly she said,
"If you want me to come with you, then that's all right with me'
'Cause I know I'm going nowhere, and anywhere's a better place to be.
I drove her to my boarding house, and I took her up to my room.
And I went to turn on the only light to brighten up the gloom.
But she said, "Please leave the light off, oh I don't mind the dark."
And as her clothes all tumbled 'round her, I could hear my heart.
The moonlight shone upon her as she lay back in my bed.
It was the kind of scene I only had imagined in my head.
I just could not believe it, to think that she was real.
And as I tried to tell her she said "Shhh.. I know just how you feel.
And if you want to come here with me, then that's all right with me.
'Cause I've been oh so lonely, and lovin' someone is a better way to be."
The morning come so swiftly, I held her in my arms.
And she slept like a baby, snug and safe from harm.
I did not want to share her or dare to break the mood,
So before she woke I went out to buy us both some food.
I came back with my paper bag, to find that she was gone.
She'd left a six word letter sayin', "It's time that I moved on."
You know the waitress she took her bar rag, and she wiped it across her eyes,
And as she spoke her voice came out as somethin' like a sigh.
She said "I wish that I was beautiful, or that you were halfway blind.
And I wish I weren't so goddamn fat, I wish that you were mine.
And I wish that you'd come with me, when I leave for home.
For we both know all about loneliness, and livin' all alone."
And the little man,
Looked at the empty glass in his hand,
And he smiled a crooked grin,
He said, "I guess I'm out of gin.
And know we both have been so lonely.
And if you want me to come with you, then that's all right with me.
'Cause I know I'm goin' nowhere and anywhere is a better place to be."
