Lyrics

I believed him when he cried he died a little every day
That went by and he dared not say how long he’d loved you
Because that penetrating brightness in your eyes
Had breathed a lightness through his soul
Reviving memories of those he knows he used to be

And it was love so long before
Saint Louis, summer nineteen aught four
Ice cream at the fair. Sunlight in your hair
And as the whole world gathered there
That’s where he fell for you the first time

You strolled along as willows wept
Hand in glove and and step to step
Through the promise of the future on display
But when the summer waned and shadows grew
When autumn came and breezes blew
He lost you, and your unborn daughter

Lives slip by in heaves and sighs
A kiss hello, a wave goodbye
Some align and some just miss it
Some intertwine and some get twisted
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

So time trudged on… years unfurled
The Great War burned that promised world
Hope was gone… and it seemed so long
As he stared across the empty life behind him
But in the battle's angry heat
Kindness landed at his weary feet
Shrapnel loosed his shattered soul
And a broken heart bereaved no more

Then, slipping through a blissful light
He awoke upon the other side
But too much time had hurried by
You were grown and he was only five
And as you sang your newborn girl to sleep
Outside he smiled. But inside… he weeped

Lives slip by in heaves and sighs
A kiss hello, a wave goodbye
Some align and some just miss it
Some intertwined and some just twisted
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

The defenses of the heart
Dare not disclose its broken parts
Bleeding deep within its fortresses of fantasy
Our music blares so all believe
All is well, and all's serene
But prying eyes, I fear, have seen
The wounds I still inflict on me

Because I loved you long before
Saint Louis, summer nineteen aught four
Ice cream at the fair, sunlight in your hair
And as the whole world gathered there
That’s where I fell for you…
The first time

Lives slip by in heaves and sighs
A kiss hello, a wave goodbye
Some align and some just miss it
Some intertwine and some get twisted

As lives slip by like leaves in flight
Before the snows turn all to white
Some invite it. Some resist
As our divine pales with existence
But leaves a trail up where the white dove sails
Though we will cry. The tears will dry
When love prevails
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

Music & lyrics by David Greathouse
© 2025, Sourdough Music, ASCAP