[Spoken Intro – LOW, GRUFF, DRY, slight rasp, distant harmonica] I said it once… Yeah… I remember… “You’ll be a lonely old man someday…” …Heh. Guess I got that wrong. [harmonica sigh] [Verse 1 – loose blues phrasing] I watched you walk away from your own blood Yeah… I watched you walk away Didn’t turn around, didn’t even blink Just left ‘em there that day Didn’t say a word, didn’t claim your name Didn’t act like they were yours Just closed that door behind your back… Like you done it all before [Verse 2] No bedtime stories, no steady hand No “it’s alright, I’m here” Every time they needed someone strong You just… disappeared So I picked up pieces you let fall Yeah I carried every part Held ‘em close through every crack… While it tore me apart [Verse 3] Late nights walking down that hallway Listening to ‘em cry Kept my voice low, kept ‘em safe While something in me died Put myself somewhere out of sight Yeah I learned to fade away Gave ‘em everything I had to give… And more than I could pay [Chorus] No calls… no “how you been” Yeah… just silence settling in Long nights… they wear me thin Don’t know where to begin Tell me... who’s the lonely one now? Go on… tell me how You gave ‘em nothing, I gave my life… Still I’m the one shut out Yeah I gave my life to raising them right… Now I’m the lonely one now [Verse 4] You get their time, you get their smiles Like you never missed a day They don’t see the years I bled… Just see you walk their way I get quiet rooms and empty chairs And echoes off the walls All the love I poured into ‘em… Don’t come back at all [Bridge – spoken-sung, bitter, blues pause between lines] Funny how time… twists it clean Turns the truth into a lie You walk back in like nothing’s wrong… And they don’t ask you why I stayed, I bled, I gave it all… Never let ‘em fall Now I’m the ghost inside these walls… And you get it all [Final Chorus] No calls… no “how you been” Yeah… I know how this ends Long nights… they pull me in Same place I been Tell me... who’s the lonely one now? Say it out loud… say it now You gave ‘em nothing, I gave my life… Still I’m the one shut out Yeah I carried everything you dropped… Now I’m the lonely one now [Outro – almost spoken blues] I said you’d be a lonely old man… …Yeah, I said it proud… Funny thing is… You ain’t lonely now. [harmonica fades]
