True Friends

Hi, my friends It's the Fourth of July Oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my First time I met your daughter, she was five I asked her, "hey, how old are you now?" And she said, "twenty" I said, "Next time that much time passes, I'll be 70" She said she's studying Russian And going on to college in the fall in Boston For the rest of the night, she sat there crocheting While the rest of us were talking And eating cherries picked from a tree And they ate crackers, gluten free While I ate sourdough with brie I said "hey" to that daughter's mom Who I first met in 2002 While she was making jewlery And I was making Ghosts of the Great Highway And 19 years have passed Good things are meant to last We've been friends through and through Through ups and downs and various trends Through straight roads and bumpy ones that bend True friends True friends True friends True friends My girlfriend's at home with her cat, Leona The cat's got small-cell lymphoma Making us both so sad and weepy But she had it in her to bring us cookies Before the Fourth of July gathering And we sat down side by side And I looked her in her eyes Said, "I got your back 'till the day I die" I said, "Whatever you decide You know I'm always on your side" And right then, from the sky above Landing on my fire escape Were two spotted mourning doves True love True love True love True love My dad's in Ohio with a bad back Can't use his legs anymore He needs his walker to get to the kitchen At 87, he don't do no bitching I said, "Dad, how do you stay so uplifting?" He said, "'Cause I'm living on borrowed time My brothers and sisters and friends, they all died" He said, "But I still got you, and you're a wonderful son You sing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' better than anyone" I said, "Dad, I don't know about that But I do know that you're a good dad You hear me out when I'm distraught and sad For you, I'm grateful, and I'm glad" Good dads Good dads Good dads Good dads On the Fourth of July, my friend Theresa Her kids went away with their dad to Virginia She told me she watched a show on Netflix Starring James Spader, called Blacklist She talked to a friend from Ohio A young deceased friend's little brother, Jojo She had pasta, and drank a protein shake Struggled with a migraine and back pain She read Mike Lanegan's Sing Backwards and Weep And fell asleep to the sound of fireworks Good talks Good talks Good talks Good talks Year 2000, on the third of July I stood next to the stage in Malmö I watched Elliott Smith's band play live He sang like a bird He didn't miss a note, didn't miss a word His guitar playing was stellar He was a true virtuoso And no, not just that night in Malmö Next day in Gothenburg On the Fourth of July Elliott and I got to talking He said, "Mark, I like your guitar playing" I said, "Elliott, I like yours too" There under a tent at the festival Next day in Stockholm I took off without telling him goodbye Figured I'd see him another time But three years later, Elliott died Aw, but that Fourth of July It was everything but enemies There are only good memories Good memories Good memories Good memories Good memories