MUSIC FOR SALE

I waited for you in the lobby so cold,
The windows were dirty, the air smelled like mold.
Just little children, my brother and I,
Hungry and tired, we tried not to cry.

We heard a commotion in that seedy hotel,
Cursing and scuffling, a woman’s shrill yell.
We ran up the stairwell afraid you were hurt,
You slumped in the hallway, without even a shirt.

I waited for you, through the night and the pain,
Through the silence, the sorrow, the cold and the rain.
I waited for you, though you never came through,
All my life I was waiting… waiting for you.

The stench of tobacco and stale alcohol,
A childhood defined by the weight of it all.
I pulled on your arm, cried “Daddy, come home!”
You said “Call a taxi, and go back alone.”
At home in my bed, I waited for you,
To kiss me goodnight like you once used to do.
But you stumbled in drunk at the break of day
I reached out to hug you, you pushed me away.

I waited for you, through the night and the pain,
Through the silence, the sorrow, the cold and the rain.
I waited for you, though you never came through,
All my life I was waiting… waiting for you.

The years slipped by as your children grew,
It seemed I spent my whole life just waiting for you.
To be the good father I dreamed you could be,
A comfort, protector, and shelter for me.

I waited for you till the day you lay dying,
Though the others left, I remained there crying.
I waited for words I had so longed to hear,
That you loved me, Dad, and you held me dear.

You whispered so faintly, “It hurts me to go…
I love you, my daughter.” I answered, “I know.”
I thought those words would at last set me free,
But a deeper pain now rose up inside me.

I waited for you, through the night and the pain,
Through the silence, the sorrow, the cold and the rain.
I waited for you, though you never came through,
All my life I was waiting… waiting for you.
I waited for you… I waited for you…