My daddy sent me on to Baton Rouge in 1969 He said our love was like a forest fire and he'd end it with a mind So you rode with us to Temple, Texas where I did catch the train And I remember waving back at you from a silted window pane [Chorus:] And I said fare thee well true love of mine And I said fare thee well sweet lips of wine And you said fare thee well my Texas rose And then you blew a kiss of innocence as the trains began to roll So long ago You'd gone off to fight the war when I returned from school
And I traded in my innocence when the springtime came in bloom And I married for my family; one night I dreamed of you And you were running from me in the rain down on Congress Avenue Now I saw you once in a crowded bar and it was Christmas time I was frightened by the thunder of our hearts in '69 Because I live my life in whispers now and I choose to live alone So I slipped back to the avenue and flipped my collar to the cold