Nod Over Coffee

Mark Heard recorded the following in 1991. A year later he died suddenly, exactly four months shy of his 42nd birthday.

All the unsaid words that I might be thinking,
And all the little signs that I might give you –
Well, they would not be enough.
No, they would not be enough.

So, we nod over coffee and say goodbye.
Smile over coffee and turn to go.
We know the drill and we do it well,
We love it, we hate it, ain’t that life?

Ain’t that the curse of the second hand?
Ain’t that the way of the hour and the day?

If I weren’t so alone and afraid,
They might pay me what I am worth.
But it would not be enough.
You deserve better.

So, we nod over coffee and say goodbye.
Do whatever has to be done again today.
Get in the traffic and time will fly,
Look at the sun and pray for rain.

Ain’t that the curse of the second hand?
Ain’t that the way of the hour and the day?

The dam of time cannot hold back
The dust that will surely come of these bones.
And I’m sure I will not have loved enough,
Will not have loved enough.

If we could see with wiser eyes
What is good, and what is sad, and what is true;
Still, it would not be enough.
Could never be enough.

So, we nod over coffee and say goodbye.
Bolt the door, it’s time to go.
Into the car with the radio on,
Roll down the window and blow the horn.

Ain’t that the curse of the second hand?
Ain’t that the way of the hour and the day?