She left Dallas for California With an old friend at her side Well he did not say much But one year later He'd ask her to be his wife And the lights of L.A. County They look like diamonds in the sky When you're driving through the hours With an old friend at your side One year later I left Houston With an old friend at my side Well it did not say much But it was a beauty Of a coal black .45 And the lights of L.A. County They look like diamonds in the sky When you're driving through the hours With an old friend at your side So I drove on all the day long And I drove on through the night And I thought of her a'waiting For to be his blushing bride And the lights of L.A. County They looked like diamonds in the sky As I drove into the valley With my old friend at my side And as she stood there at the altar All dressed in her gown of white Lord her face was bright as the stars a'shining Like I'd dreamed of all my life And they kissed each other And they turned around And they saw me standing in the aisle Well I did not say much I just stood there watching As that .45 told them goodbye And the lights of L.A. County Look like diamonds in the sky When you're kneeling at the altar With an old friend at your side And the lights of L.A. County Are a mighty pretty sight When you're kneeling at the altar With an old friend at your side

And his hand it fell behind her As his arm it reached around And she looked at the window And she watched the shade go down It was a private conversation No one heard her say That the man she left behind her Was two thousand miles away Singing boy pick up that fiddle And play that steel guitar And find yourself a lady And dance right where you are There was a lonely girl from nowhere With a smile all sweet with pain And she never stopped to wonder If she'd see him again It was a private conversation No one heard her say That man that she was looking for Was only twenty streets away Singing boy pick up that fiddle And play that steel guitar And find yourself a lady And dance right where you are And the band it just kept playing As she came walking in And he never stopped to wonder If he'd see her again It was a private conversation No one heard him say That girl he left behind him Was two thousand miles away He just sang boy pick up that fiddle And play that steel guitar And find yourself a lady And dance right where you are And the moral of this story Is I guess it's easier said than done To look at what you've been through And to see what you've become It's a private conversation No one hears you say It's a private conversation And his hand it fell behind her As his arm it reached around And she looked at the window And she watched the shade go down It was a private conversation No one heard her say It was a private conversation No one heard him say It was a private conversation No one heard her say It was a private conversation

Old friend All the stories to tell Old friend Could you bid me farewell Old friend It might be easy for another man to see Old foe All the pain and the scars Old foe Could you lay down your arms Old foe It might be easy for another man to see Put your head down on my pillow Put your hand on me and hold on Hold on Put your head down on my pillow Put your hand on me and hold on Hold on Old friend Old friend Old friend It might be easy for another man to see But I think you still look a lot like me

Once upon a time ago Way up in the land of sleet and snow How this fairy tale would go I could not have known I had searched around this world so mean From Livingstone to Palestine Trying to pursue my dream Of love It was then I met this girl so fine She made me think so fast I left my thought behind And I tried to pass for a sophisticated Northern man I said, "Why, yes my dear I know exactly what you mean Because there? s not so much I haven? t done or seen And may I say your eyes are the loveliest Shade of jade" I said, "Come on baby Come on baby Come on baby" It was then I knew I had made my first mistake She did not even start to wait And as she turned around to walk away This is what she had to say She told me "Man, I come from way down South I? ve got a picket fence with a picket house And I don? t need no fast talking northern man Like you around" I said, "Well, come on baby Come on baby Come on baby" Honey, I don? t know what you just heard But Alabama is my favorite word And Birmingham Is a long way from here Why, I could see the light began to shine She turned back around her eyes met mine And suddenly the whole world became A better place Even if it was only for an instant Because it was then I knew I had made my Second mistake She told me, "Man that was a real good try But Alabama? s not where I reside I come from where the river is wide And the crawfish hide" I said, "Well come on baby Come on baby Come on baby" Honey, I don? t know what you just heard But Louisiana is my favorite word And New Orleans Is a long way from here She just looked at me and shook her head "Your lines are pretty sad" she said "You are a lonely, weak, pathetic man If this is doing the best you can" It was then I knew I had made my third mistake Yes, three strikes right across the plate And as I hollered honey, "Please wait" She was gone I said, "Well come on baby Come on baby Come on baby" Honey, I don? t know what you just heard Bartender set? em up are my favorite words Because the love I need Is a long way from here Oh the love I need Is a long way from here Yes well, there I sat so all alone Like a king who sits upon his throne And whose kingdom may have just gone home With another kingdom So as you can imagine much to my surprise When the door was flung back open wide It was a miracle, she walked inside And pulled her chair up next to me And that? s when she knew She had made her First mistake Well honey, I don? t know what you just heard But come on baby are my favorite words And where we? re going Is a long way from here And where we? re going to Is a long way from here So like I said before, I could not have known How this fairy tale would finally go Still the only certain thing for sure Is what I do not know So like the years and all the seasons pass And like the sand runs through the hour glass I just keep on running faster, chasing the happily I am ever after I just keep on running faster Chasing the happily I am ever after