The American Kind of Lonely

The American Kind of Lonely
© 2006, Jon Trott

There’s a young girl lying on a beach chair
And a child with a whimsical smile
And an older woman looking in a mirror
Sadness in her eyes and the light outside
Fades down into an American kind of lonely
Fades down into the American kind of lonely

The young girl rises up in her day dream
To the arms of the one she believes she loves
The woman remembers him whisp’ring goodbye
In a forever kind of way that still brings tears
Raining down through an American kind of lonely
Raining down through the American kind of lonely

So much material reality around them
So many spiritual options being sold and even free
The child looks up, her eyes are shining
She knows innocence and she knows more than me
Sinking down into an American kind of lonely
Sinking down into the American kind of lonely

The girl is shapely, the girl is healthy,
The girl is laughing gaily safe because she’s wealthy
The woman does not judge her, says no word
But prays; girlish innocence mixed with ignorance…
This is the song of an American kind of lonely
This is the song of the American kind of lonely

I was young once before my wife walked away
Ignorant of love’s suffering way
I cursed God before I ever learned to pray
And the woman and the child take my hand and say…
This is the song of an American kind of lonely
This is the song of the American kind of lonely

The child is dancing in the sand the sun the gulls
Cry with inarticulate words that still speak truth
The girl’s eyes fill as she talks on her cell phone
And the woman turns to me and gives me a kiss, whispers
This is the song of an American kind of lonely
This is the end of the American kind of lonely