[Intro] Rain on the windows, evening falls The hallway light is burning low Your coat is still beside the door As though you might come home [Verse 1] We were young beside the river With second-hand bikes and borrowed time We followed paths through fields and villages And watched the evening lose its light We spoke of places we would visit Of music, books and distant seas Then caught the last train from the city And laughed at our own foolish dreams [Chorus] You were gone before your time Before the leaves had turned to gold Before the plans we made together Had found a place to take their hold Now every road and railway line Still brings a little of you back I keep your name inside these songs You were gone before your time [Verse 2] I heard the news one autumn morning The sky was pale, the streets were wet The sort of day that carries on While nothing feels quite real yet I took the train through fields of stubble Past quiet towns and stands of trees And every station seemed to hold A memory of you and me [Chorus] You were gone before your time Before the spring had reached the trees Before the plans we made together Could become the life we’d hoped to see Now every road and railway line Still brings a little of you back I keep your name inside these songs You were gone before your time [Bridge] Sometimes I see you at the crossing Your bicycle against the wall You turn and smile as if to say There’s still a long way left to call Then footsteps fade along the pavement The evening settles, cold and clear And all I have is what we shared And the knowledge you are near [Final Chorus] You were gone before your time But you are not completely gone You live in every road I travel And in the words I’m passing on Though all the years keep moving by Your memory walks here by my side I keep your name inside these songs You were gone before your time [Outro] Rain on the windows, evening falls The hallway light is burning low Your coat is still beside the door As though you might come home
