People Go by Like a Flame

I had to take someone to the airport just this morning
I had forgotten about all the faces
Everybody that I saw was going to or coming from different places
But they all looked the same
Crushed and shy or loud and angry
Everybody just walked along without looking at anyone

I ran into a friend of mine from my junior high days
I spent the night at his house once
I remember that night vividly
We were nearly strangers now. It'd been so long
And he was headin' off to Germany
It was him and his girlfriend, and he was gonna study French there
Or maybe it was it German

CHORUS
People go by like a flame
And you never even know their name
You might get warm
You might get burned
But either way a flame is not the sun
That rises every day

His girlfriend wasn't there when I showed up
And I remember thinking how lonely to go to Germany alone
Then he told me that she'd be there soon
But it still seemed really sad to me
He still looked like he was on his own
Now he was smart. He knew a lot
But I wanted to ask if him he was okay
There was just something in his eyes

BRIDGE
Late at night, the moon is bright
And the fields are silver-gray
And no, it's true it ain't no sun
But it's pretty anyway