Songtext How it goes Eric Andersen

How it goes

New York City, February '64, I almost froze
In a 7th Avenue phone booth, a chill came from the coast
High upon his triumph, one James Dean never rode
His second taste of faithless love and fresh-blown off the road
Green off the streets of San Francisco
He was trying to make and keep his mark and
Trying to keep her too

So how it goes I don't know
Feelings froze and the book just closed
Too many tears and sorrows, we lost our hearts I suppose
Why after oh so many years
I don't mind the coldness, I can make it in the dark
If you were your own prisoner, you be your own guard
We really thought we had it made, we thought we were so smart
If it makes you feel any better babe, let's blame it on the stars
Lover, lover, lover let's blame it on the stars,
Lover, lover, lover tell me why it had to be so hard

Everybody seemed so hungry then on Ambition Avenue
Paranoia oozing in the air, it even filled our shoes
Survival rode a two-faced mount, the vibes were black and blue
They called it revoluton but murder seemed to rule
The lovers hid out in the Grove they didn't wanna know
About the war, us or them, the times are so confused
So go to him now if he's the one you crave
He's the one who sees through you, scars are blown away
You need his sensitivity, you need his truth, his grace
And there's nothing now, nothing now standing in his way

So how it goes I don't know
Feelings froze and the book just closed
Too many tears and sorrows, we lost our hearts I suppose
Why after oh so many years
How heavy must the changes be to get yourself across to me
I don't mind the coldness, I can make it in the dark
If you were your own prisoner, you be your own guard
We really thought we had it made, we thought we were so smart
If it makes you feel any better babe, let's blame it on the stars
Lover, lover, lover let's blame it on the stars
Lover, lover, lover tell me why it had to be so hard

Then it was off to California our hopes began to swell
With a child in the offing, things didn't go so well
Really felt like paradise, we fell beneath the spell
Like palm trees on a freeway, so paradoxical
In that other wasteland, Ahming for our own canal
Blue river couldn't hear me, shit I wouldn't take the call
So it was back to NYC where I crawled out of the well
To get the energy again to say just fuck 'em all

So how it goes I don't know
Feelings froze and the book just closed
Too many tears and sorrows, we lost our hearts I suppose
Why after oh so many years
I don't mind the coldness, I can see now in the dark
If you were your own prisoner, you be your own guard
We really thought we had it made, we thought we were so smart
The famous model lovers then, we really missed the mark
I wouldn't mind it half as much if I hadn't lost the part
Lover, lover, lover if I hadn't lost the part
Lover, lover, lover tell me why it had to be so hard

It was Max's Kansas City, after a show we hit the bar
How she longed for his reflection and I guess by now
You know she reflected him so well
And almost like perfected souls that never were apart
In that hotel room that night she took his song to heart
And just like wild horses, the lovers how they ran
Who'd ever guess that Christmas day it'd stop like it began
Sickness grabbed her by the spine, she fell out of his grip
Ophelia turned to Camille and hit the Texas dirt
Hamlet didn't stick around and did his worst Bogart
And quickly split to New Years Eve avoidng all questions
Went on to California and she to Switzerland

So how it goes I don't know
Feelings froze and the book just closed
Too many tears and sorrows, we lost our hearts I suppose
Why after oh so many years
I don't mind the coldness, I can see now in the dark
If you were your own prisoner, you be your own guard
We really thought we had it made, we thought we were so smart
The famous model lovers then, we really missed the mark
I wouldn't mind it half as much if I hadn't lost the part
Lover, lover, lover if I hadn't lost the part
Lover, lover, lover tell me why it had to be so hard