Drifter

(album: Drifter - 1981)

I brush a tear from my eye
As I glance towards the star spun sky
Is he up there somewhere?
Is there any chance that he's thinking of me?
A sigh slips out
As my thoughts follow their inevitable course
Back to the man I love

And the day that he decided
That settling down just wasn't for him
(Since you left me
I've been crying everyday)

I've loved him for years
From the moment I laid eyes on him
Washed up on an abandoned beach

Life in general
And the wars in particular
Forced me to grow up
To adapt to a new way of thinking and a new life
One that didn't revolve completely around myself

At times I felt as if I'd given up
Every part of my own identity
But always, my love for him remained
It grew and matured along with me
He knows that

For years
He seemed to cherish that love and return it
That day, almost a month ago today
He swore that he did

It's just that my love wasn't enough
To hold him here any longer
(You knew I loved you
But you drifted anyway)

Perhaps I'm naught but a fool
But I honestly thought he was happy
I certainly was
I suppose I should have realized
That the life I've chosen to live wouldn't suit him for long

He's a private man and a soldier at heart
There are few things less private than a politician's life
And I know there were many
Who held his past against him
Perhaps he can find contentment as a wanderer

(Drifter
I thought my love
Stopped all your restlessness
But you proved again
That no one ropes the wind)

I pray that he finds happiness somewhere
Even if it isn't here with me
As much as the idea hurts
I love him too much to wish misery upon him
And I pray that he will always remember me
And the love I hold for him with fondness

(Drifter
Please remember
No one loves you like I do)

My thoughts wander
Through my memories of our time together
Of shared laughter and tears
Of our time of peace
The wind blows through my hair
And I tilt my head back
Imagining that it's his caress

(Drifter
I thought my love
Stopped all your restlessness
But you proved again
That no one ropes the wind)

I can't help the small, sad smile that escapes
No matter how sad I am now
I'm glad I had these last years with him
And he does love me
I hold that little piece of knowledge to my heart

Whoever said that it's better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all was right
But you know what's best of all?
The promise that he'll be back someday

(Drifter
I'll be waiting
Should you ever drift back in)