The World Moves On

The thermometer ran out of numbers

When it reached fifty degrees

I just lay down on the floor

With a bag of frozen peas

We saw plumes of smoke

Rising in the distance from our balcony

I poured a glass of wine

Sucked the juice out of a kiwi

Catherine turned on the TV

They showed acres after acres

Of absolutely nothing

And then Stevie called and said

"Are you watching what I'm watching?"

I said, "I'm watching what you're watching

Oh, what is it I'm watching?"

The night before I had been bored

My legs had been restless

It was my birthday

I'd already opened up my presents

At the social club I met some friends

Who were friends with this girl

One by one they dropped of

Till it was just me and her

We made out in every bar in town

While the state of Victoria

Burned down to the ground

And the sun rose over the city

The wind swept through the valley

And you don't get over a broken heart

You just learn to carry it gracefully

Edinburgh gardens offered some kind of shade

I would pick up some beers and head down to the lake

Watch the possums and listen to the growling banter

There was one I liked especially

I named her Santa sentimental

I would offer a slice of apple from my hand

She would sniff it, frown, and then lumber back to the trash can

I was going uphill on my mountain bike

When I was passed by a scooter

"You got a dollar or a cigarette?

Hey, I'm talking to you, poofa"

What I should have said was nothing

What I said was, "Get lost"

Next thing I'm upside-down

With my bike in the ground

Hitting dirt all the way home

Cursing the buried ground which I was chewing on

And the sun rose over the city

The wind swept through the valley

And you don't get over a broken heart

You just learn to carry it gracefully

And that's what it's like

When you've had your heart broken

The world just shrugs it's shoulders

And keeps going

It just moves on in all it's sadness and glory

Over dinner with a friend

I tell him my story

And as I finally put the book back on the shelf

She says, "Maybe it's time you take a look at yourself"

No one's born an asshole

It takes a lot of hard work

And God knows I've worked my ass off

To be a jerk

So many hands I've held

While wondering why I felt nothing

Why when I let go of that hand

I always start to feel something?

Like a bottle smashed against my head

She said, "I wish you would have just cheated on me instead"

Loving without loving

Is always the worst crime

I know all the signs and signals

'Cause now I've been on both sides

The way you choose your words

The limpness of your hand

I almost died when you introduced me as a friend

How can you call me a friend?

If you don't love me

Then please have the dignity to tell me

I never said any of that

I just shook that hand and looked

Down at the doormat

And the sun rose over the city

The wind swept through the valley

And you don't get over a broken heart

You just learn to carry it gracefully