The Late Innings

Lyrics

I can tell you’re stunned
To see me in the flesh
For those of you at home
Do not adjust your set
Forgive me if I skip
The list of those to thank
For something more essential
It’s not as though I don’t revere
The recognition by my peers
But it’ll have to wait
Cause there’s a set of things
That can’t stay confidential
On this night
You see
A feeling’s got a hold on me

I can’t change how I reacted
Now someone has been subtracted
I can’t help but be distracted
Tonight

I had left the scene
Retired to my chateau
I thought that I had gone
As far as I could go
But she had made the trek
To take my photograph
To which I had consented
She had a way like no one else
It helped me to forget myself
I had no idea
Before she came to stay
That I could feel contented
But I lost
My clout
As soon as word had gotten out

I can’t change how I reacted
Now someone has been subtracted
I can’t help but be distracted
Tonight

She wasn’t bashful
And she’d give specifics
To anyone who would inquire
When they were printed
I found it horrific
To learn that she was the supplier
Once I said
A couple deserves its privacy
An empty bed
Was all that remained at home for me

I had made a plan
But now it’s gone astray
And if I wrote the script
It wouldn’t end this way
The house that I had built
So far outside the zone
It served as an oasis
These days I hardly leave my room
In what has yet become a tomb
I’m the one to blame
Cause I had tried in vain
To not appear salacious
And by now
I’ve learned
You can’t rebuild a bridge you’ve burned

I can’t change how I reacted
Now someone has been subtracted
I hope that she’s out there watching
Tonight