I Never Gave the Jacket Back

Lyrics

Forty winters back, my father lent me his old coat
For the dance at Harrow Street, I was shaking in my boots
He said, wear it like you mean it, son, and button up the throat
And bring it home by morning, and I swore I would, of course

But I met someone that evening
And the morning never came

I never gave the jacket back
It hung beside our door
It's been to weddings, funerals, and every mile in store
The elbows have gone thin now and the lining's wearing through
I never gave the jacket back
And it still belongs to two

My father asked me once or twice and then he let it go
He smiled when he saw me in it, in a crowded room
I wore it at our wedding and I wore it in the snow
I wore it when I held my daughter, wrapped against the gloom

And he never asked again
He just smiled and looked away

I never gave the jacket back
It hung beside our door
It's been to weddings, funerals, and every mile in store
The elbows have gone thin now and the lining's wearing through
I never gave the jacket back
And it still belongs to two

Now it's on my daughter's shoulders
For her first night out in town
And I say, wear it like you mean it
And I help her fasten down

We never gave the jacket back
It travels down the years
Warm with all the laughter and a little salt of tears
The elbows have gone thin now but the heart is good as new
We never gave the jacket back
And it keeps us close, we two

Wear it like you mean it
Wear it like you mean it