Story Behind The Song

Sometimes it seems like a whole song resides right there in a word or two, and all you have to do is open something up - and out it comes. I often thought that the phrase "to tender your resignation" was a curious construction. When I switched the verb b

Lyrics

Tender Resignation

This is my tender resignation.
Can it be a dignified goodbye?
It's an unpredictable occasion.
This is the acid in the lye.

We could go around like this forever
When we get to the bottom,
we take it from the top
We look so foolish when we try to be clever
I guess we never learned how to stop

This has been a long time in the making
This has had sufficient time to grow
If we don't cut these roots,
they'll be taking over
You get a bitter harvest
when you plant a bitter row

If we want to face into the future
First we've got to face up to the facts
We've been wearing so many faces
We can't tell our features from the mask

So I'll just put this on the table
I guess we're old enough to see
If we can take a little pain, we'll be able
To cut our losses, and cut each other free

I know it's hard to give up on a vision
But it's gone beyond a shadow of a doubt
We just have to come to a decision
To open up a new life,
and close the old one out

So this is my tender resignation
Can it be a dignified goodbye
It's a unpredictable occasion
This is the acid in the lye
This is the acid in the lye
This is the acid in the lye