Last time he saw her she was up on stage singin’ a song to a packed house…just her and a guitar…some open mic night at a downtown bar where people whispered durin’ performances…beer bottles rattled on tables…customers ordered shots of Jaegermeister…Rumplemintz…and other cough suppressants…she just kept on playin’…

And she was singin’ a Rickie Lee Jones song…Last Chance Texaco…singin’ ’bout long stretches of highway…a love that got away…a heart in need of re-chargin’…she sang every word like she meant it…like it was the last time anybody was gonna hear her sing…she put her soul into it…she put her soul into everything…everything…

Used to wake up in the mornin’ and go for a walk ’round town…past old gas stations…bars with neon still glowin’ from the night before…walked past Klem’s Diner…a bakery where it always smelled like fresh cinnamon toast…county court house…as they walked she’d hum these songs…talk ’bout how the day was gonna go…whose turn it was to do the dishes…what was for dinner that night…they’d hold hands…

Said she always had this dream ’bout bein’ a singer…hittin’ the road one day…just her and that guitar…said she didn’t know if she was good enough…he told her she was…told her she had a real pretty voice…she’d just smile…start hummin’ songs again…told her she should pursue her dreams…asked her what was stoppin’ her…she didn’t say anything…just held his hand a little tighter…a little tighter…

Last time he saw her she was up on stage singin’ to a packed house…it was time…it was time…