Story Behind The Song

I chanced upon a woman who seemed interested in me. She had broken up with her boyfriend a year before but he would surface now and then and she couldn't resist his mournful puppy dog eyes and longing looks. But he was also quite the manipulator. Well, several months had passed. She wanted to go to this restaurant/bar to get to know me. It so happened that while we were talking, he showed up and sat down at our table. She looked at me and said, "I'm sorry, John, but you have to go. I can't help it."

Song Description

A woman cannot let go of an old lover who keeps reappearing.

Lyrics

When those soft city lights
Are getting softer and dim
And those feelings inside
Are getting under your skin
And the late show is over
And you're still thinking of him.

Just like a storybook
That seems out of place
Bright shining armor that you
Tempered with lace
It's the ghost of the past that
Somehow keeps you enslaved
To his face.

On the far side of town
The early morning train cries
And the glow of the street lamps
Are like echoes of signs
There are dreams on your pillow
Where you still want to hide.