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lyrics

I’ve worked in this place since I was in college
It was all I could find to pay my way through
I had not the heart to leave when I should have
Now I’ve been running this place since ‘52

Compared to the rest, it’s the best mortuary
That you’ll find on this side of Evergreen Hills
Clean as a hospital, and warm in the winter
And as a painter of faces, I’m known for my skill

I’m seventy-six and I have not known romance
Since Catherine the Typist, 1982
But in my line of work, there’s many a widow
That comes through my doorway shattered and blue

Was an evening in April, the first time I saw her
She looked like a model with her luster of youth
She was greeted with a smile and a few words of kindness
I dared not go further for all she’d been through

Arrangements were made the very next morning
We chatted as I planned the floral displays
And after the service I provided some comfort
As we shared a dinner back at my place

As the months rolled by we slowly grew closer
We’d talk for hours and laugh at the time
Then one day we kissed, and we didn’t regret it
I’d keep her hand warm as I held it in mine

She made me feel young, like a kid out of high school
For once I didn’t feel so sunken and grey
I told her I loved her, but she didn’t answer
The smile in her eyes left nothing to say

But all things worth keeping
Soon wither and fade
With the passing of the days
I found her in bed with the sheet pulled down tight
Cold, ashen and grey
And I wailed at the realization…

I drove her down to my mortuary
And I set to work with my sharpest technique
Restoring the veil of apparent vitality
With a painted-on smile
And a kiss on the cheek

credits

from Broken Hearts & Bitter Ends, track released January 1, 2004

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Shandy Lawson New Haven, Connecticut

Formerly of Los Angeles, Tampa, and NYC, Shandy is a New Haven, CT-based performing songwriter. But really, he'll play pretty much anywhere.

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