W1D Rendezvous

We would meet at the station at the strike of the clock
You were there on the dot
But I wasn't late either
It's an awkward approach
Should I shake hands or hold you?
I don't know, I told you that
I'm not at my best when the decision is mine
I'm not trying to impress, just to remember my lines but
Maybe you would understand
And even lend me a hand when I stumble

It's loud and it's crowded so we stay at the door
You tell me your stories, I listen to you talk
"I used to be like those guys", you laugh
Then shake your head and look a bit sad
"Have you gone on stage? Ever felt alive?"
I don't know if I have, so I have to deny
The music is starting to go stale Let's go and not wear tonight away

Somewhere at the end of Bayswater Road
Somewhere near Rabbit's Row
We would gather and you would show me the ropes
It's dark in the room when the candles are out
I feel for my shoes trying not to make a sound
I'm on the street again at 3.15

"I've always wanted to go there
Just to meet someone
Under the whale, you know"
I know I said we could indeed do so
But there was this and that and I know you don't look back
Those are the words you never have to rehearse
Cause the B.D. and D.L. blues runs in your veins
You're tired and torn
Still I'm quiet when you talk
You say I look uptight, well I know that I don't
Maybe just withdrawn next to the fanfare performed and provided by you
I go to the escalator and try
To say something nice as the last goodbye
You raise your hand, I see your face, you smile
I go down to the tunnel, you disappear from sight

My young old friend who seemed to be
From another decade in his black tweed
Has turned into a ghost in my mind
The dream is gone and I'm back in a life
Where I feel like a stranger most of the time
But that's still as run-of-the-mill as they come