Let me tell you about my best friend
He was six foot three, a little older than me
For forty months we shared one bed
Above my store, he didn’t pay me rent
The blanket I had was too short for his legs
Beggars aren’t choosers, he didn’t complain
When the candle went out we could say anything
Neither of us had ever had a friend like that
In 1842 I left that town
My family in Louisville needed my help
I worried about breaking the news
My best friend had a tendency to get the blues
The letters I wrote were too short for his taste
We did what we could to stay close in those days
When the pen hit the paper we could say anything
Neither of us had ever had a friend like that
Neither of us found another after that
Politically on opposite sides
In 1860 I voted for the other guy
For almost twenty years our path was split:
Lincoln found greatness, Speed got rich
But life is too short, we mended that break
We never know what we have until it is too late
Remember back when we could say anything?
Neither of us had ever had a friend like that
Nobody but lincoln could make me laugh like that
Tom Heyman documents life in San Francisco circa 2023, refusing to succumb to easy characterization & instead capturing the city’s nuance. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 22, 2023
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