My daddy sent me off to Baton Rouge in nineteen-sixty-nine
He said our love was like a forest fire and he'd end it with the miles
So you rode with us to Temple, Texas where I did catch the train
I remember waving back at you through a silted window pane
Chorus
I said,"Fare thee well true love of mine."
I said,"Fare thee well, sweet lips of wine".
And you said,"Fare thee well my Texas rose."
And then you blew a kiss of innocence as the train began to roll
So long ago
You'd gone off to fight the war when I returned from school
I traded in my innocence when the springtime came to bloom
I married for my family one night I dreamed of you
And you were running from me in the rain down on Congress Avenue
Chorus
I saw you once in a crowded bar it was Christmas time
I was frightened by the thunder of our hearts in sixty-nine
Because I live my life in whispers now and I choose to live alone
So I slipped back to the Avenue and flipped my collar to the cold