Track 6 of the album Paper Moon Rent · 2011
The Apology I Sang at Last Call
“The hardest song I've sung at the end of a night, and I sang it at the end of a night. Some apologies only work when the glasses are shining and the room is empty.”
jazz ballad · torch song · barroom ballad · 3:40
Lyrics
The bar is nearly empty The glasses shine like stars There's a chair I kept for someone Near the old piano bars Thirty years I sang for strangers And I never sang for you Tonight I'll say it softly Like a song, and mean it true I'm sorry, my old friend For the years I let go by I'm sorry, my old friend For the quiet and the why If you hear me, if you're listening At the end of this last call I'm sorry, my old friend Sorry, after all I was busy with the spotlight You were waiting in the rain I was chasing every applause You were calling down the lane Now the room is dim and gentle And the last notes drift away All I want is your forgiveness At the closing of the day I'm sorry, my old friend For the years I let go by I'm sorry, my old friend For the quiet and the why If you hear me, if you're listening At the end of this last call I'm sorry, my old friend Sorry, after all Then the door swung slowly open And a shadow filled the frame And a voice said, you were forgiven Long before you said my name I'm sorry, my old friend For the years I let go by I'm sorry, my old friend But you're here, and so am I Pour a last one for the evening Let the piano softly fall I'm sorry, my old friend And you've forgiven all Sorry, my old friend Forgiven, after all