I used to visit all the very gay places

those come what may places

where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life

to get the feel of life

from jazz and cocktails

the girls i knew had sad and sullen gray faces

with distant gay traces

that used to be there you could see where

they'd been washed away

by too many through the day

twelve o'clocktails



then you came along with your siren's song

to tempt me to madness

i thought for a while that your pointed smile

was tinged with the sadness

of a great love for me

ah yes i was wrong

again i was wrong



life is lonely again

and only last year

everything seemed so assured

now life is awful again

and the thoughtful of heart

could only be a bore



a week in paris will ease the bite of it

all i care is to smile in spite of it

i'll forget you i will

and yet you are still

burning inside my brain



romance is mush

stifling those who strive

i'll live a lush

life in some small dive

and there i'll be

while i rot with the rest

of those whose lives are lonely too