Old Friends

I’ve got a picture of you and me
From maybe 1982
You were 27
I was almost 22

We’re singing with somebody
Who isn't in the frame
Smiling at each other
Matching every phrase

Suspending notes that don't belong
Seconds and sixths whatever we want
And it feels like flying
Always landing somewhere new
Weaving a shared tapestry
That’s what you and I do

I was working the bar at open mike
The night you came to town
I’d heard about a girl
Better than anyone around

I got up and sang a tune
While Robbie watched the bar
Then the whole place got quiet
For your voice and your guitar

I remember us sitting on the floor
Singing every song we knew
Richard and Linda Thompson
Gram and Emmylou

We could tell each other anything
And we still do
Keeping our shared secrets
That’s what good friends do

And if I’d never met you
So much I never would have done
All those gigs you got me
All those great country songs
The record we made
Gave me this path I’m on
The way you showed all the guys
A girl could sing and write a song

And as it sometimes goes
We went separate ways
Who was right and who was wrong
Neither one of us can say

And it doesn't matter now
It was so long ago
Like water under the bridge
Life flows where it must go

So here we are in your hotel room
Singing Gram and Emmylou
20 years 20,000 roads
Have brought me back to you

Older a little wiser
Than back in 1982
Sharing a history
That’s what old friends do