is a musical I like very much. It is probably on my top 5 list, if I can even really compile a top 5 list. For anyone who doesn't know what it is about, it only has two actors the entire show and their characters are Jamie and Cathy. They were in a relationship (dating, engagement and marriage) for 5 years and divorced at the 5th year. What makes it different is that the show starts off at the end of the relationship with Cathy singing how she is still hurt by things that happened, and her character continues to go back in time, song by song from the divorce, all the way back to the first date. Jamie on the other hand is going through the relationship from start to finish. They pretty much schedule it cathy song, jamie song, cathy song, jamie song, but for some reason, I feel like posting the lyrics in order of the show.

I got really into it all last night, and just realized how true to life this thing really is. Basically, if you do read through it all, you'll see that Cathy is a struggling actress and Jamie is a successful author. Though Jamie ends up cheating on Cathy in the end, his strong lyrics make you feel bad for him too. And I still don't think it justifies what he did, he continues to just be blunt and straight forward with Cathy, making you at times feel Cathy is the bad guy. I think it can be like that a lot in real life too.

I don't know, I just think it is well written and has some great songs in it too, so if you are interested, it's called The Last Five Years. It was written by Jason Robert Brown and the actors in the CD were Norbert Leo Butz and Sherlie Renee Scott. ....here it is for you.


This first song is Cathy sitting in the apartment her and Jamie had together with a note he left her saying Goodbye. This is at the end of the relationship, just at divorce.

Still Hurting:

Jamie is over and Jamie is gone.
Jamie's decided it's time to move on.
Jamie has new dreams he's building apon
and I'm still hurting.

Jamie arrived at the end of the line.
Jamie's convinced that the problems are mine.
Jamie is probably feeling just fine
and I'm still hurting.

What about lies, Jamie?
What about things that you swore to be true?
What about you, Jamie?
What about you?

Jamie is sure something wonderful died.
Jamie decides it's his right to decide.
Jamie's got secrets he doesn't confide
and I'm still hurting.

Go and hide
and run away.
Run away.
Run and find something better.
Go and hide the sun away.
Run away like it's simple.
Like it's right.

Give me a day, Jamie,
bring back the lights
hang them back on the walls.
Maybe I'll see how you could be so certain that we
had no chance at all.

Jamie is over, and where can I turn?
Covered with scars I did nothing to earn.
Maybe there's somewhere a lesson to learn?
But that wouldn't change the facts.
That wouldn't speed the time.
Once the foundation's cracked
and I'm still hurting.





Jamie is talking with Cathy on their first date about how he could be disappointing his Jewish family by dating a christian woman, but it doesn't bother him.

Shiksa Goddess:

I'm breaking my mother's heart
the longer I stand looking at you,
the more I hear it splinter and crack from ninety miles away.

I'm breaking my mother's heart.
The JCC of spring valley is shaking
and crumbling to the ground
and my grandfather's rolling, rolling in his grave.

If you had a tattoo that wouldn't matter.
If you had a shaved head, that would be cool!
If you came from Spain, or Japan, or the back of a van,
just as long as you're not from Hebrew school.
I'd say now I'm getting somewhere,
I'm finally breaking through...
I'd say "hey, hey shiksa goddess,
I've been waiting for someone like you."

I've been waiting through Danica Schwartz and Erica Weiss
And the Handelman twins.
I've been waiting through Heather Greenblatt, Annie Mincus, Karen Pincus and Lisa Katz.
And Stacy Rosen, Ellen Kaplan, Julie Silber and Janie Stein.
I've had Shabbas dinners on Friday nights
with every Shapiro in Washington Heights
but the minute I first met you,
I could barely catch my breathe
I've been standing for days with a phone in my hand
like an idiot scared to death.
I've been wandering through the desert,
I've been beaten, I've been hit.
My people have suffered for thousands of years
and I don't give a shit!

If you had a pierced tongue, that wouldn't matter.
If you once were in jail or you once were a man.
If your mother and your brother had relations with each other
and your father was connected to the Gotti clan,
I'd say, "well, nobody's perfect..."
It's tragic but it's true.
I'd say, "hey hey shiksa goddess!
I've been waiting for someone like you..."

Breaking the circle.
You, breaking the light.
You... you are the story I should write.
I have to write.

If you drove an RV, that wouldn't matter.
If you like to drink blood,
...I think it's cute!
if you've got a powerful connection
to your firearm collection
I'd say "draw a bead and shoot!"
I'm your Hebrew slave at your service
just tell me what to do.
I'd say "hey hey hey hey,
I've been waiting for someone,
I think that I could use someone
I think that I could be in love with someone
like you."






on Cathy's birthday and she is in Ohio performing for a traveling theatre production. She and Jamie are sitting on a pier and she is trying to keep their relationship going but upset that Jamie is planning on going back to New York for a party celebrating his writing success.

See, I'm Smiling:

I guess I can't believe you're really here
and that we're sitting on this pier.
See, I'm smiling.
That means I'm happy that you're hear.

I stole this sweater from the costume shop.
It makes me look like Daisy May.
See, you're laughing


I mean we'll have to try a littler harder
and bend things to and froe
to make this love as special
as it was five years ago.
I mean, you made it to Ohio!
Who knows where else we can go...

I think you're really going to like this show,
I'm pretty sure it doesn't suck
See, you're laughing
and I'm smiling in a river by Ohio
and you're mine.
We're doing fine.

I think we both can see what can be better
I'll own when I was wrong
with all we've had to go through
We'll end up twice as strong
so we'll start again this weekend
and just keep rolling along...

I didn't know you had to go so soon..
I thought we had a little time.
Look, whatever, if you have to
then you have to, so whatever.
It's alright.
We'll have tonight.

You know what makes me crazy,
I'm sorry, can I say this?
You know what makes me nuts?
The fact that we can be together, here together
sharing our night, sharing our time,
and you are going to choose someone else to be with.
No, you are.
Yes jamie that's exactly what you're doing!
You can be here with me or be there with them,
as usual, guess which you pick?
No Jamie, you do not have to go to another party
with the same twenty jerks you already know.
You can stay with your wife on her fucking birthday,
and you could, God forbid, even see my show.
And I know in your soul it must drive you crazy
that you won't get to go with your little girlfriends.
No I'm not, no I'm not!
and the point is Jamie, that you cant spend a single day that not about you
and you and nothing but you.
"Marvelous, snovelous Jew!"
"Isn't he wonderful, just twenty-eight; the savior of writing!"
You, and you and nothing but you!
Miles and piles of you,
pushing through windows and bursting through walls
en route to the sky,
and I...

I swear to God, I'll never understand
how you can stand there straight and tall
and see I'm crying
and not do anything at all.





Jamie's world is spinning as he is becoming the next big up and coming writer all while finding the woman he loves.

Moving Too Fast:

Did I just hear an alarm start ringing?
Did I see sirens go flying past?
Though I don't know what tomorrow's bringing
I've got a singular impression things are moving too fast.

I'm gliding smooth as a figure skater
I'm riding hot as a rocket blast.
I jus expected it ten years later
I've got a singular impression things are moving too fast.
And you say, "oh no, step on the breaks,
do whatever it takes, but stop this train.
Slow, slow, the lights turning red."
But I say "no no, whatever I do, I barrel on through."
No matter what I try, I'm flying full speed ahead.

I'm never worried to walk the wire.
I wont do anything just half-assed.
but with the stakes getting somewhat higher
I've got a singular impression
things are moving too fast.

I found the woman I love.
and I found an agent who loves me.
Things might get bumpy, but some people analyze every detail.
Some people stall when they can't see the trail.
Some people freeze out of fear that they'll fail
but I keep rolling on.

Some people can't get success with their art
some people never feel love in their heart
some people can't tell the two things apart
but I keep moving on.
Oh maybe I can't follow through?
But oh, what else am I supposed to do?

I've dreamed of riding like the high and mighty
Now I'm the subject of a bidding war.
I've meet my personal Aphrodite
I'm doing things I've never dreamed of before.
We start to take the next step together
found an apartment on 73rd.
The Atlantic Monthly's printing my first chapter
2000 bucks without rewriting one word
I left Columbia and I don't regret it
I wrote a book in sunny Maine already,
my heart is stolen, my ego's swollen
I just keep rolling along.

And I think well well what else is in store?
Got all this and more before twenty-four
It's hard not to be sure
I'm spinning out of control
Out of control

I'm feeling panicked and rushed and hurried
I'm feeling outmaneuvered and outclassed
But I'm so happy I can't get worried
About this singular impression
I've got a singular impression things are moving too fast




Cathy is at a book signing party with Jamie and talking to press about how he often ignores her when she is writing, but she is still perfectly in love with him and that she is even starting to follow in his path than her own.

I'm Apart of That:

One day we're just like "Leave it to Beaver"
One day it's just a typical life
And then he's off on
A trip to Jamie-land
Staring catatonic out the window
Barely even breathing all the while

And then he'll smile
His eyes light up and deep within the ground
Without a sound
A moment comes to life
And I'm a part of that
I'm a part of that
I'm a part of that

Next day it's just like
It never happened
We're making dinners
We're making plans
Then he gets on the
Mule train to Jamie-land
Handful after handful of Doritos
Circling the apartment, logging miles

And then he smiles
His eyes light up
And how can I complain?
Yes, he's insane
But look what he can do
And I'm a part of that
I'm a part of that
I'm a part of that

And it's true
I tend to follow in his stride
Instead of side by side
I take his cue
True, but there's no question
There's no doubt
I said I'd stick it out
And follow through
And when I do

Then he smiles
And where else can I go?
I didn't know
The rules do not apply
And then he smiles
And nothing else makes sense
While he invents
The world that's passing by
And I'm a part of that
I'm a part of that
I'm a part of that
Aren't I?

I'm a part of that
I'm a part of that
I'm a part of that





It's Jamie and Cathy's first Christmas celebration together and before giving Cathy her present, Jamie tells a story he created before presenting her with her gift: a watch.

The Schmuel Song:
First, a story. A little Christmas Story.
I call it "The Story of Schmuel, Tailor of Klimovich"

Schmuel would work till half-past ten at his tailor shop in Klimovich
Get up at dawn and start again with the hems and pins and twist
Forty-one years had come and gone at his tailor shop in Klimovich
Watching the winters soldier on, there was one thing Schmuel missed

"If I only had time," old Schmuel said
"I would build the dress that's in my head
A dress to fire
The mad desire
Of girls from here to Minsk
But I have no more hours left to sew"
Then the clock upon the wal began to glow...

And the clock said:
"Na na na na, na na na
Oh Schmuel, you'll get to be happy!
Na na na na, na na na
I give you unlimited time!
Na na na na, na na na
So Schmuel, go sew and be happy!"
But Schmuel said
"No, no, it's not my lot
I've gotta make do witht he time I've got"

Schmuel was done at half-past ten and he said "Good night, old Klimovich"
Put on his coat to go, but then the clock cried, "Wait! Not yet!
Even though you're not wise or rich
You're the finest man in Klimovich
Listen up, Schmuel
Make one stitch and you'll see what you get"

But Schmuel said
"Clock, it's much too late
I'm at peace with life
I accept my fate..."
But the clock said
"Schmuel! One stitch and you will
Unlock the dreams you've lost!"
So Schmuel, with reluctance, took his thread
He pulled a bolt of velvet and said
"I should take out my teeth and go to bed
I'm sitting her with talking clocks instead!"

And the clock said:
"Na na na na, na na na
Oh Schmuel, you'll get to be happy!
Na na na na, na na na,
I give you unlimited time
Na na na na, na na na
Just do it and you can be happy!"

So Schmuel put the thread through the needle's eye
And the moon stared down from a starless sky
And he pushed the thread through the velvet black
And he looked, and the clock was turning...back

So he grabbed his shears and he cut some lace
As the hands moved left on the old clock's face
And his fingers flew and the fabric swirled
It was nine-fifteen all around the world

Every cut and stitch was a perfect fit
As if God Himself were controlling it!
And Schmuel cried through a rush of tears
"Take me back! Take me back all forty-one years!"

And on it went down that silent street
Till Schmuel's dress was at last complete
And he stretched his arms
And he closed his eyes
And the morning sun finally started to rise

And the dress he made on that endless night
Was a dress that would make any soul take flight
Not a swatch, not a skein had gone to waste
Every ribbon and button ideally placed
And swen into the seams were forty-one seasons of dreams
Dreams that you could feel
Coming real

And that very dress, so the papers swore
Was the dress a girl in Odessa wore
On the day she promised forevermore
To love a young man named Schmuel
Who only one day before
Had knocked at her kitchen door

Plenty have hoped and dreamed and prayed
But they can't get out of Klimovich
If Schmuel had been a cute goyishe maid
He'd've looked a lot like you
Maybe it's just that you're afraid to go out on to a limb-ovich
Maybe your heart's completely swayed
But your head can't follow through

But shouldn't I want the world to see
The brilliant girl who inspires me?
Don't you think that now's a good time to be
The ambitious freak you are?
Say goodbye to wiping ashtrays at the bar
Say hello to Cathy Hiatt, big-time star!
'Cause I say:
Na na na na na na na na
Cathy, you get to be happy!
Na na na na
I give you unlimited time!
Na na na na na na na
Stop temping and go and be happy!

Here's a headshot guy and a new BackStage
Where you're right for something on every page
Take a breath
Take a step
Take a chance

Take your time
Have I mentioned today
How lucky I am
To be in love with you?



Cathy is writing a letter to her new husband, Jamie from Ohio while she is off on tour for theatre. In her letter, she writes about the strange people in her cast, as well as missing him.

A Summer in Ohio:

I could have a mansion on the hill
I could lease a villa in Seville
But it wouldn't be as nice as a summer in Ohio
With a gay midget named Karl, playing Tevia and Porgy

I could wander Paris after dark
Take a carriage ride through Central Park
But it wouldn't be as nice as a summer in Ohio
Where I'm sharing a room with a "former" stripper and her snake: Wayne

I could have a satchel full of dollar bills
Cures for all the nations ills
Pills to make a lion purr
I could be in line to be the British queen
Look like I was seventeen
Still I'm certain I'd prefer to be going slowly batty
Forty miles east of Cincinnati

I could shove an ice pick in my eye
I could eat some fish from last July
But it wouldn't be as awful as a summer in Ohio
Without cable, hot water, Vietnamese food, or you

I saw your book at a Border's in Kentucky
Under a sign that said "New and Recommended"
I stole a look at your picture on the inside sleeve and then I couldn't leave
Richard, who was with me, got uncharacteristically quiet
And he said, "All things considered, I guess you don't have to buy it"
So I smile like Mona Lisa, and I lay my Visa down

He wants me, he wants me, but he ain't gonna get me
I've found my guiding light, I tell the stars each night
Look at me, look at him
Son of a bitch, I guess I'm doing something right
I finally got something right

No, it's not Nirvana, but it's on the way
I play "Anita" at the matinee
Then I'll get on my knees, and pray I can state in my next bio:
"I'm never gonna go back to Ohio!"

I could chew on tin foil for a spell
I could get a root canal in hell
But it wouldn't be as swell as this summer is gonna be!
'Cause the torture is just exquisite, while I'm waiting for you to visit
So hurry up, schmuck, get unstuck and get on the scene

Love,
The midget, the stripper, Wayne the snake, and Mrs. Jamie Wellerstein
That's me!


Jamie starts the scene in a row boat in Central Park where he proposes to her. Cathy and him get married during the scene, vowing to spend the "next ten lifetimes" together. This is the first and only scene in the entire show that the two actually sing together. The scene ends with Cathy going to the boat, and continuing toward the beginning of their relationship, as Jamie moves on to the end.

The Next Ten Minutes:


JAMIE
No, that one's Jerry Seinfeld
That one's John Lennon there
No, the Dakota
The San Remo is up a few blocks
Have you been inside the Museum?
We should go
Meet the dinosaurs

Cathy...

Will you share your life with me
For the next ten minutes?
For the next ten minutes
We can handle that
We could watch the waves
We could watch the sky
Or just sit and wait
As the time ticks by
And if we make it till then
Can I ask you again
For another ten?

And if you in turn agree
To the next ten minutes
And the next ten minutes
Till the morning comes
Then just holding you
Might compel me to
Ask you for more
There are so many lives I want to share with you
I will never be complete until I do

CATHY (their vows)
I'm not always on time
Please don't expect that from me
I will be late
But if you can just wait
I will make it eventually

Not like it's in my control
Not like I'm proud of the fact
But anything other than being exactly on time
I can do

I don't know why people run
I don't know why things fall through
I don't know how anybody survives in this life
Without someone like you
I could protect and preserve
I could say no and goodbye
But why, Jamie, why?

I want to be your wife
I want to bear your child
I want to die
Knowing I
Had a long, full life in your arms
That I can do
Forever, with you

JAMIE
Will you share your life with me

CATHY
Forever

JAMIE
For the next ten lifetimes?

CATHY
Forever, Jamie

JAMIE
For a million summers

BOTH
Till the world explodes
Till there's no one left
Who has ever known us apart

JAMIE
There are so many dreams
I need to see with you...

CATHY
There are so many years
I need to be with you...

JAMIE
I will never be complete

CATHY
I will never be alive

JAMIE
I will never change the world
Until I do

CATHY
I do

JAMIE
I do

CATHY
I do

BOTH
I do...

CATHY (going backwards from the wedding, to where Jamie starts the song)
Is that one John Lennon?
That's the San Remo
Isn't that the Museum?
Can we go see the dinosaurs?




Jamie is feeling the temptations of marriage as he feels attractive women are constantly wanting him, especially with his rising career. Meanwhile, Cathy goes to auditions for the Ohio touring company.

A Miracle Would Happen/When You Come Home:

JAMIE
Everyone tells you that the minute you get married
Every other woman in the world
Suddenly finds you attractive
Well, that's not true
It only affects the kind of women
You always wanted to sleeep with
But they wouldn't give you the time of day before
And now they're banging down your door
And falling to their knees
At least that's what it feels like because you
Can
Not
Touch
Them
In fact, you can't even look at them
Close your eyes, close your eyes, close your eyes
Except you're sitting there
Eating your corned beef sandwich
And all of a sudden, this pair of breasts walks by
And smiles at you
And you're like "That's not fair!"

And in a perfect world
A miracle would happen
And every other girl would fly away
And it'd be me and Cathy,
And nothing else would matter
But it's fine, it's fine, it's fine
I mean, I'm happy
And I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine
It's not a problem
It's just a challenge
It's a challenge to resist
Temptation

And I have to say that
What exacerbates the problem
Is I'm at these parties
I'm the center of attention
I'm the grand fromage
And here she comes:
"Let's get a cup of coffee.
Will you look at my manuscript?"
And I'm showing her my left hand
I'm gesticulating with my left hand
And then WHOOMP! There's Cathy!
'Cause she knows
(They always know)
And there's that really awkward moment
Where I try to show I wasn't encouraging this
(Though of course I sort of was)
And I don't want to look whipped in front of this woman
Which is dumb - I shouldn't care what she thinks
Since I can't fuck her anyway!

And in a perfect world
A miracle would happen
And every girl would look like Mr. Ed
And it'd be me and Cathy
And nothing else would matter
But it's fine, it's fine, it's fine
You know I love her
And it's fine, it's fine, it's fine
It's what I wanted
And I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine!
It's not a problem
It's just a challenge
It's a challenge to resist
Temptation

CATHY (audition song)
When you come home to me
I'll wear a sweeter smile
And hope that, for a while, you'll stay
When you come home to me
Your hand will touch my face
And banish any trace of gray
Soon, a love will rise anew
Even greater than the joy I felt
Just missing you
And once again, I'll be
So proud to call you "mine"
When you finally come home
To me

JAMIE (being late the pick her up or watching auditions)
I'll be there soon, Cathy
I'll finish up this chapter and be out the door
I swear I'll be there soon, Cathy
Don't give up on me yet
I am so proud of you, baby
You're doing what you never got to do before
And I will be there, ripe and crawling
If fuckin' Random House stops calling
Don't lose faith
Don't get down
Don't despair
I'll be there

And in a perfect world
A miracle would happen
And that day would finally be here
And it'd be me and you
Riding it together
And the things we do
Goin' like we planned
We're gonna make it through
And nothing else will matter
We'll be fine, we're fine
We're fine, we're fine, we're... fine
I'll be there soon, Cathy...
I swear I will



Cathy discussing the difficulties of auditioning for shows with her father.

Climbing Uphill:

When you come home to me
I'll wear a sweeter smile
And hope that, for a while, you'll...
Okay, thank you
Thank you so much!

I'm climbing uphill, Daddy
Climbing uphill

I'm up every morning at six
And standing in line
With two hundred girls
Who are younger and thinner than me
Who have already been to the gym

I'm waiting five hours in line
And watching the girls
Just coming and going
In dresses that look just like this
Till my number is finally called

When I walk in the room
There's a table of men
Always men - usually gay
Who've been sitting like I have
And listening all day
To two hundred girls
Belting as high as they can

I am a good person
I'm an attractive person
I am a talented person
Grant me Grace

When you come home...(inner thoughts at an audition):
I should have told them I was sick last week
They're gonna think this is the way I sing
Why is the pianist playing so loud?
Should I sing louder?
I'll sing louder
Maybe I should stop and start over
I'm gonna stop and start over
Why is the director staring at his crotch?
Why is that man staring at my resume?
Don't stare at my resume
I made up half of my resume
Look at me
Stop looking at that, look at me
No, not at my shoes
Don't look at my shoes
I hate these fucking shoes
Why did I pick these shoes?
Why did I pick this song?
Why did I pick this career?
Why does this pianist hate me?
If I don't get a callback
I can go to Crate and Barrel with mom and buy a couch
Not that I want to spend a day with mom
But Jamie needs space to write
Since I'm obviously such a horrible, annoying distraction to him
What's he gonna be like when we have kids?
And once again...
Why am I working so hard?
These are the people who cast Linda Blair in a musical
Jesus Christ, I suck, I suck, I suck, I suck
When fin'lly you come home to...
Okay, thank you
Thank you so much
(end of the audition)

I will not be the girl stuck at home in the 'burbs
With the baby, the dog, and the garden of herbs
I will not be the girl in the sensible shoes
Pushing burgers and beer nuts and missing the clues
I will not be the girl who gets asked how it feels
To be trotting along at the genius's heels
I will not be the girl who requires a man to get by
And I...

When you come home to me
I'll wear a sweeter smile...




Jamie is trying to convince Cathy that his relationship with his editor is just business, so they can continue on going to an party. He feels she is unsupportive of his career and just wants to get to a point of happiness in the relationship.

If I Didn't Believe In You:

Okay, stop
Cathy, stop
Listen to me

There are people
And they are publishing my book
And there's a party that they're throwing
And while you've made it very clear that you're not going
I will be going
And that's done

But what's it really about?
Is it really about a party, Cathy?
Can we please for a minute stop blaming
And say what you feel?
Is it just that you're disappointed
To be touring again for the summer?
Did you think this would all be much easier
Than it's turned out to be?
Well, then talk to me, Cathy
Talk to me

If I didn't believe in you
We'd never have gotten this far
If I didn't believe in you
And all of the ten thousand women you are
If I didn't think you could do
Anything you ever wanted to
If I wasn't certain that you'd come through somehow
THe fact of the matter is, Cathy
I wouldn't be standing here now

If I didn't believe in you
We wouldn't be having this fight
If I didn't believe in you
I'd walk out the door and say,
"Cathy, you're right"
But I never could let that go
Knowing the things about you I know
Things, when I met you four years ago, I knew
It never took much convincing
To make me believe in you

Don't we get to be happy, Cathy?
At some point down the line

Don't we get to relax?
Without some new tsuris
To push me yet further from you?
If I'm cheering on your side, Cathy
Why can't you support mine?
Why do I have to feel
I've committed some felony
Doing what I always swore I would do?

I don't want you to hurt
I don't want you to sink
But you know what I think?
I think you'll be fine!
Just hang on and you'll see-
But don't make me wait till you do
To be happy with you
Will you listen to me?
No one can give you courage
No one can thicken your skin
I will not fail so you can be comfortable, Cathy
I will not lose because you can't win

If I didn't believe in you
Then here's where the travelogue ends
If I didn't believe in you
I couldn't have stood before all of our friends
And said, "This is the life I choose
This is the thing I can't bear to lose
Trip us or trap us, but we refuse to fall"
That's what I thought we agreed on, Cathy
If I hadn't believed in you
I wouldn't have loved you at all

Now why don't you put your dress on and we'll go, okay?
Cathy?
Can we just do that please?
Please?!




Cathy is driving to meet Jamie's parents for the first time, remembering her best friend and how she never wanted to turn out. She then asks Jamie to move in with her if the dinner goes well.

I Can Do Better Than That:

My best friend had a little situation
At the end of our senior year
And like a shot, she and Mitchell got married that summer
Carolann getting bigger every minute
Thinking, "What am I doing here?"
While Mitchell's out every night
Being a heavy-metal drummer
They got a little cute house on a little cute street
With a crucifix on the door
Mitchell got a job at the record store in the mall
Just the typical facts of a typical life in a town on the Eastern Shore
I thought about what I wanted
It wasn't like that at all
Made Carolann a cute baby sweater
Thinking "I can do better than that"

In a year or so, I moved to the city
Thinking "What have I got to lose?"
Got a room, got a cat, and got twenty pounds thinner
Met a guy in a class I was taking who you might say
Looked like Tom Cruise
He wouldn't leave me alone 'less I went with him to dinner
And I guess he was cute
And I guess he was sweet
ANd I guess he was good in bed
I gave up my life for a better part of a year
And so I'm starting to think that this maybe my worth
And the second it entered my head
He needed to take some time off
Focus on his "career"
He blew me off with a heartfelt letter
I thought "I can do better than that"

You don't have to get a haircut
You don't have to change your shoes
You don't have to like Duran Duran
Just love me

You don't have to put the seat down
You don't have to watch the news
You dont' have to learn to tango
You don't have to eat prosciutto
You don't have to change a thing
Just stay with me

I want you and you and nothing but you
Miles and piles of you
Finally I'll have something worthwhile
To think about each morning

You and you and nothing but you
No substitution will do
Nothing but fresh, undiluted and pure
Top of the line and totally mine

I don't need any lifetime commitments
I don't need to get hitched tonight
I don't want to throw up your walls and defenses
I don't mean to put on any pressure
But I know what a thing is right
And I spend every day reconfiguring my sense
When we get to my house, take a look at that town
Take a look at how far I've gone

I will never go back
Never look back anymoure
And it feels like my life led right to your side
And will keep me there from now on
Think about what you wanted
Think about what could be
Think about how I love you
Say you'll move in with me
Think of what's great about me and you
Think of the bullshit we've both been through
Think of what's past because we can do better
We can do better
We can do better than that
We can do better than that




The end of the relationship. Cathy is in Ohio and Jamie is sleeping with another woman, who may or may not be his editor. He blames Cathy for not letting him have his own bit of privacy while telling her that he would never lie to her and might love her.

Nobody Needs to Know:

Hey, kid - good morning
You look like an angel
I don't remember when we fell asleep
We should get up, kid
Cathy is waiting...

Look at us, lying here
Dreaming, pretending
I made a promise and I took a vow
I wrote a story
And we changed the ending
Cathy, just look at me now

Hold on, facts are facts
Just relax, lay low
All right, the panic recedes:
Nobody needs to know

Put on my armor
I'm off to Ohio
Back into battle till
I don't know when
Swearing to her that I was
Never with you
And praying I'll hold you again

Hold on, clip these wings -
Things get out of hand
All right, it's over, it's done
No one will understand
No one will understand...

We build a treehouse
I keep it from shaking
Little more glue every time that it breaks
Perfectly balanced
And then I start making
Conscious, deliberate mistakes

All that I ask for
Is one little corner
One private room
At the back of my heart
Tell her I found one
She sends out battalions
To claim it and blow it apart

I grip and she grips
And faster we're sliding
Sliding and spilling
And what can I do?
Come back to bed, kid
Take me inside you
I pormise I won't lie to you

Hold on, don't cry yet
I won't let you go
All right - the panic recedes
All right - everyone bleeds
All right - I get what I need
And nobody needs to know
Nobody needs to know

And since I have to be in love with someone
Since I need to be in love with someone
Maybe I could be in love with someone
Like you...





For Cathy, it is the end of the first date with Jamie. For Jamie, it is the end of their relationship. Cathy bids "Goodbye Until Tomorrow" while Jamie simply bids "goodbye."

Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You:

CATHY
Don't kiss me goodbye again
Leave this night clean and quiet
You want the last word
You want me to laugh
But leave it for now

All you can say
All you can feel
Was wrapped up inside that one perfect kiss
Leave it at that:
I'll watch you turn the corner and go...

And goodbye until tomorrow
Goodbye until the next time you call
And I'll be waiting
Goodbye until tomorrow
Goodbye till I recall how to breathe
And I have been waiting
I have been waiting for you

I stand on a precipice
I struggle to keep my balance
I open myself
I open myself one stitch at a time

Finally yes
Finally now
Finally something takes me away
Finally free
Finally he can cut through these strings
And open my wings

So goodbye until tomorrow
Goodbye until my feet touch the floor
And I will be waiting
I will be waiting
Goodbye until tomorrow
Goodbye until the rest of my life
And I have been waiting
I have been waiting for you
Waiting for you
Waiting for you

JAMIE
I called Elise to help me pack my bags
I went downtown and closed the bank account
It's not about another shrink
It's not about another compromise
I'm not the only one who's hurting here
I don't know what the hell is left to do
You never saw how far the crack had opened
You never knew I had run out of rope and

I could never rescue you
All you ever wanted
But I could never rescue you
No matter how I tried
All I could do was love you hard
And let you go

No matter how I tried
All I could do was love you
God, I loved you so
So we could fight
Or we could wait
Or I could go...

CATHY
Goodbye until tomorrow
Goodbye until I crawl to your door
And I will be waiting
I will be waiting

JAMIE
You never noticed how the wind had changed

CATHY
Goodbye until tomorrow

JAMIE
I didn't see a way we both could win

CATHY
Goodbye until I'm done thanking God
For I have been waiting
I have been waiting for you
I have been waiting

JAMIE
Goodbye, Cathy

CATHY
I have been waiting for you

JAMIE
Goodbye

CATHY
I will keep waiting -
I will be waiting for you

Just close the gate
I'll stand and wait
Jamie...

BOTH
Goodbye