How can I go on when every thought hurts I flirt with the notion of no more songs My old familiar foe, self pity, haunts me I'm stuck in some over-the-mountain town In a meaningless bar where fat hands Round the steiners And no one cares if it suns or pours In an hour between trains Barney puts the record on And the aimless rise to dance Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you I see you, George, in your Apartment on Riverside Drive Some fifty years ago Your fingers on the keys Looking for the song Looking for that hook Embrace me, you irreplaceable you Who were you then? Did you have a woman? Were you hard up for cash? Did you ever know you'd be heard in The middle distance In some over-the-mountain town? Connecting to the muscles of the dancers In this close and smoky room Who were you then? Were you sure of your tune? Or were your dreams and your courage all broken down like mine? Now there's something that clutches the heart
A melody that stays Year after year I love all the many charms about you Above all I want my arms around you I'm already late for my train But I don't think about that I think of you, George At your piano, sweating in the summer heat By the way, did you get your girl, Did you by your house in the country? Did you wait for something that never came? Did you die still waiting for your train? Don't be a naughty baby, come to mama Come to mama do Some part of your heart twists and turns in mine Your soul rises There's an angel in charge There's one note that weeps the truth And makes my life mean something Just for the length of Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you Embrace me, you irreplaceable you Don't be a naughty baby, come to mama, Come to mama do I will go home, I will try again I will catch the train Catch another breath Move back to the piano and Let the notes do what they'll do In honor of you, George In honor of you