This Shirt

Mary Chapin Carpenter

(Mary Chapin Carpenter) 

This shirt is old and faded 
All the color's washed away 
I've had it now for more damn years 
Than I can count anyway 
I wear it beneath my jacket 
With the collar turned up high 
So old I should replace it 
But I'm not about to try 

This shirt's got silver buttons 
And a place upon the sleeve 
Where I used to set my heart up 
Right there anyone could see 
This shirt is the one I wore to every boring high school dance 
Where the boys ignored the girls 
And we all pretended to like the band 

This shirt was a pillow for my head 
On a train through Italy 
This shirt was a blanket beneath the love 
We made in Argeles 
This shirt was lost for three whole days 
In a town near Buffalo 
'Till I found the locker key 
In a downtown Trailways bus depot 

This shirt was the one I lent you 
And when you gave it back 
There was a rip inside the sleeve 
Where you rolled your cigarettes 
It was the place I put my heart 
Now look at where you put a tear 
I forgave your thoughtlessness 
But not the boy who put it there 

This shirt was the place your cat 
Decided to give birth to five 
And we stayed up all night watching 
And we wept when the last one died 
This shirt is just an old faded piece of cotton 
Shining like the memories 
Inside those silver buttons 

This shirt is a grand old relic 
With a grand old history 
I wear it now for Sunday chores 
Cleaning house and raking leaves 
I wear it beneath my jacket 
With the collar turned up high 
So old I should replace it 
But I'm not about to try
Tags:  adult folk americana chilled vocal Favorite favorite songs favorites folk Mellow singer-songwriter songs i miss wistful
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