I Wanna Learn a Love Song

I come fresh from the street,

Fast on my feet, kind a lean and lazy;

Not much meat on my bones, and a whole lot alone,

And more than a little bit crazy.

The old six string was all i had

To keep my belly still,

And for each full hour lesson i gave

I got a crisp ten dollar bill.

She was married for seven years

To a concrete castle king.

She said she wanted to learn to play the guitar

And to hear her children sing.

So i'd show up about once a week

In my faded tight-legged jeans

With a backlog full of hobo stories

And dilapidated dreams.

She said, "i wanna learn a love song full of happy things."

She said, "i wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?"

She said, "i wanna learn a love song, i wanna hear you play."

She said, "i wanna learn a love song before you go away."

So i tried to teach her a couple of chords

And an easy melody;

But it always turned out she'd rather listen

To my guitar and me.

I could hear her old man laughing in the den,

Playing stud poker with the boys

While i sang so soft in the living room,

To scared to make much noise.

I came one week and the den was dark

And she met me at the door.

And we sat on the couch and we sang and talked

Till i could not sing no more.

The silence kept on building,

Her eyes grew much too wide;

And i could her both of our heartbeats,

But there was no place to hide.

She said, "i wanna learn a love song full of happy things."

She said, "i wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?"

She said, "i wanna learn a love song, i wanna hear you play."

She said, "i wanna learn a love song before you go away."

Well, i guess you know what happened,