True Friends

Hi, my friends
It's the Fourth of July
Oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my
First time I met your daughter, she was five
I asked her, "hey, how old are you now?"
And she said, "twenty"
I said, "Next time that much time passes, I'll be 70"
She said she's studying Russian
And going on to college in the fall in Boston
For the rest of the night, she sat there crocheting
While the rest of us were talking
And eating cherries picked from a tree
And they ate crackers, gluten free
While I ate sourdough with brie

I said "hey" to that daughter's mom
Who I first met in 2002
While she was making jewlery
And I was making Ghosts of the Great Highway
And 19 years have passed
Good things are meant to last
We've been friends through and through
Through ups and downs and various trends
Through straight roads and bumpy ones that bend

True friends
True friends
True friends
True friends

My girlfriend's at home with her cat, Leona
The cat's got small-cell lymphoma
Making us both so sad and weepy
But she had it in her to bring us cookies
Before the Fourth of July gathering
And we sat down side by side
And I looked her in her eyes
Said, "I got your back 'till the day I die"
I said, "Whatever you decide
You know I'm always on your side"
And right then, from the sky above
Landing on my fire escape
Were two spotted mourning doves

True love
True love
True love
True love

My dad's in Ohio with a bad back
Can't use his legs anymore
He needs his walker to get to the kitchen
At 87, he don't do no bitching
I said, "Dad, how do you stay so uplifting?"
He said, "'Cause I'm living on borrowed time
My brothers and sisters and friends, they all died"
He said, "But I still got you, and you're a wonderful son
You sing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' better than anyone"
I said, "Dad, I don't know about that
But I do know that you're a good dad
You hear me out when I'm distraught and sad
For you, I'm grateful, and I'm glad"

Good dads
Good dads
Good dads
Good dads

On the Fourth of July, my friend Theresa
Her kids went away with their dad to Virginia
She told me she watched a show on Netflix
Starring James Spader, called Blacklist
She talked to a friend from Ohio
A young deceased friend's little brother, Jojo
She had pasta, and drank a protein shake
Struggled with a migraine and back pain
She read Mike Lanegan's Sing Backwards and Weep
And fell asleep to the sound of fireworks

Good talks
Good talks
Good talks
Good talks

Year 2000, on the third of July
I stood next to the stage in Malmö
I watched Elliott Smith's band play live
He sang like a bird
He didn't miss a note, didn't miss a word
His guitar playing was stellar
He was a true virtuoso
And no, not just that night in Malmö
Next day in Gothenburg
On the Fourth of July
Elliott and I got to talking
He said, "Mark, I like your guitar playing"
I said, "Elliott, I like yours too"
There under a tent at the festival
Next day in Stockholm
I took off without telling him goodbye
Figured I'd see him another time
But three years later, Elliott died
Aw, but that Fourth of July
It was everything but enemies
There are only good memories

Good memories
Good memories
Good memories
Good memories