[Verse 1] He keeps two glasses waiting On that little marble stand Monogrammed in silver For a familiar Southern hand Philadelphia papers folded Face-down on the chair He reads between the headlines For a name that isn’t there [Chorus] Oh Gentleman from Alabama You haunt this Pennsylvania room In the rustle of a cravat In the quiet scent of cologne and bloom History calls him “Mr. President” Leaves you in the margin of the page Gentleman from Alabama How did you weather all that age? [Verse 2] They spoke of your arrangement Like a boarding-house affair “Those bachelors in Washington” With their knowing little stares You poured the wine at dinners He carved the Sunday roast You laughed about the gossip (But it cut you, almost close) [Chorus] Oh Gentleman from Alabama You haunt this Pennsylvania room In the shine of polished cufflinks In a half-remembered tune They gave him all the portraits Gave you just a passing phrase Gentleman from Alabama Who taught him how to brave those days? [Bridge] Did he sit beside your sickbed Count the spaces in each breath? Did you wonder “Will he miss me When I vanish into death?” Was it love or was it shelter In a world with colder rules? Two men sharing one small harbor While the storm rewrote the schools [Chorus] Oh Gentleman from Alabama You haunt this Pennsylvania room Every chair with one side empty Every statehouse draped in gloom They crowned him with a lonely office Took you from his everyday Gentleman from Alabama What did either of you dare to say? [Outro] He kept your portrait hidden In a drawer that wouldn’t lock Time will smooth the language But it cannot mute the shock Two shadows on the staircase Slip past the judgment in their eyes Gentleman from Alabama Your name is how the truth survives
