House

Once out through another part of the city
On some far away errand I went walking one day
My path might well have been drawn by committee
For all the time in the world I went wending my way

It's true I've never been known for my thinking
Some would say 'vague,' and I'd say that's fair
But I couldn't lie to a face without blinking
Can you believe I'd forgot what I'd find there?

For there stood the house like it had done forever
Or at least since circa 1939
The house that we lived in when we were together
The place that we rented when you were still mine

The broken antenna still stuck in the roof gently rocking
An unpicked apple still hung from the tree in the yard
I tried to peek through a window but a curtain was blocking
I thought about knocking

But what would I say to whomever answered?
Would my eyes give myself away if I lied?
I could say I was collecting for the national census
And ask how many they had living inside

I searched through my pockets to see if I had something to sell
A two dollar coin, an old bus ticket, I should keep walking
For some stones are best left unturned, but what the hell?
I rang the bell

The house gave an echo from inside its belly
Sounds I recalled from days I'd left my key
A footstep, a clang, someone turned down the telly
A shadow 'neath the door; it was too late to flee

I said, 'Hello, I once lived at this very address
'You might know my name from some unclaimed mail'
She said, 'You should've showed up a long time before this
'But if you wait right here then I'll go check the pile'

She left me there standing alone in the doorway
Just like a trespasser in my own brain
I took one step inside and looked down through the hallway
Just so the house would know I'm back again

Oh, the horror, the horror, all hell and tarnation
The wallpaper's gone, now the wall's painted green
And a tapestry of some vulgar creation
Hung where the old picture rail once had been

Oh, where were the poor little ghosts of the footsteps we'd taken?
Trapped 'neath the carpets now covering those beautiful boards
Memories of you are now turning into strips of bacon
My heart was achin'

I ran and I ran till I ran out of running
I tried to go faster than what I'd just seen
I fell on the footpath, all breathless and done-in
Looking like I'd just come through Halloween

Now some memories are precious as a diamond
And others, you have to think what they're good for
But they're best if they're left in a place you can't find them
Or else you might find someone's changed the decor