I Wanna Learn a Love Song

I come fresh from the street

Fast on my feet

Kinda 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 o' hobo stories

And dilapidated dreams

She said, "I wanna learn a love song

Full o' happy things"

She said, "I wanna learn a love song

Won't you let me hear ya sing?"

She said, "I wanna learn a love song

I wanna hear ya 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 laughin' in the den

Playin' stud poker with the boys

While I sang so soft in the livin' room

Too 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

'Til I could not sing no more

The silence kept on buildin'

Her eyes grew much too wide

And I could hear both of our heartbeats

But, there was no place to hide

She said "I wanna learn a love song

Full o' happy things"

She said, "I wanna learn a love song

Won't you let me hear ya sing?"

She said, "I wanna learn a love song

I wanna hear ya play"

She said, "I wanna learn a love song

Before you go away"

Well, I guess you know what happened

God I, I never been so clean

Yes, I feel like I'm workin' in a Hollywood movie

Or livin' out a good bad dream

And all them pin-up girls

In that tinsel world

Never touched me like she can

It took another man's wife in the real-world life

To make this boy a man

She said, "I wanna learn a love song

Full o' happy things"

She said, "I wanna learn a love song

Won't you let me hear ya sing?"

She said, "I wanna learn a love song

I wanna hear ya play"

She said, "I wanna learn a love song

Before you go away"

I guess you know I stayed

(Ooh-ooh-ooh)