(For Louis, New Years' Eve, 2004) from Roger
This world has had the best of you,
your days of driving, learning, travelling
from city school to suburb home
your country walks, and talks with everyone
This world is done for you now Lou,
let's take the long way home
You have rushed to meet the bus, run to meet the train,
hurried breakfast, dinner, lunch, to be on time again
you paid the mortgage and the rents
passed tests and taught the smartest gents
married, fathered, listened and played
and now today it's done
let's take the long way home
There always was somewhere to go,
something to fix, something to show,
someone to meet, something to know
and now it's quiet and still
like when you would think sometimes for minutes and hours
and in my heart you always will...
And the world can have you no longer,
and clocks can push you no further,
Why hurry down this road
Let's ride in class and style
just by going slow
let's notice the trees and sky
that all this time we've driven by
Let's take the long way home
Let's take the long way, the slow way,
the old way, let's take all day, to go where we must go
It's not defeat or dispair,
The road might like someone to go slow -
and if someone would instruct us to bustle, hurry, or rush us
we'll just explain about us,
it's a new place you must go
your oldest friend will know....
But we have lived together in this world
and what I want - is one more ride with you, in this world
no rush, just easy, you know,
Let's take the long way home
I'm looking up my oldest friends,
to learn their stories once again
I'm writing down what comes to mind;
I'm asking what I want to find
and though my head, my headstrong mind
would hurry up and and off I'd go
my heart says take it slow
Let's take the long way
let's take it all day
don't want you to go away
take the long way home
****
Smaller than atoms
Further than stars
As close as this love
That’s where you are