Lorraine Feather - Anna Lee lyrics

Three years and change,
I roomed with Anna-Lee,
9th and Hudson,
Apartment 7B.
She didn't carry any fat,
Smiled like a Cheshire cat,
Described herself quite wickedly,
Luminescent Anna Lee.

Mad hopes, odd jobs,
Assorted love affairs,
Rarely too high
To climb the many stairs,
Talking till the sky was pale,
We swore we wouldn't fail.
I close my eyes and I can see her
Buried in her diary.

Our dreams were grand,
Just past arm's reach.
We would claim them or would die.
We were fearless, we were frightened.
We were babies, Anna Lee and I.

Work slowed. Worst case,
We'd find a smaller place.
As I chattered on,
I could sense that you were gone,
Pensive, head bowed
Over the poem you’d read aloud:
“My dear, my dear,
It is not so dreadful here.”

Taxi crosstown,
Grace Church, wedding gown.
I knew the tender thing
Written in your golden ring.
The sun was white,
As you whirled out of sight

Midnight phone call,
You didn’t sound like you at all.
Darkness had fallen hard
In your sweet home with its endless yard,
Anna Lee.

Five years had passed.
We'd fallen out of touch,
And when we spoke,
Wound up not saying much.
I'd moved back to the warmer coast,
Learned what I wanted most,
A dream that differed wildly
From those we shared in 7B.

White-hot summer,
Call came at half-past three.
An old man’s voice asked,
"Were you a friend of Anna Lee?"

Today when I was searching for
Some papers in an ancient drawer,
I found an envelope from you,
Addressed in the curious hand I knew.

That late September day,
You'd thought a card was too cliché.
The wish you made for me
Was less in prose than poetry.

I read your note,
And felt my breath catch in my throat.
It said I mustn’t fear the game.
It ended “I love you,” with my name.