Knocking around at an airport in Buenos Aires with a few hours to kill, this one came to me pretty much fully formed. Another ‘character’ song, possibly aiming for an Elvis Costello sort of vibe (but probably way short of the mark!).

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How Things Might Have Been

He was a writer of airport trash novels
The kind you read just to kill some time
He never kept a job before he got published
His lucky break seemed to serve him just fine.

She was a waitress of no fixed abode
The kind of life lived on the bread line
Most of the time she was ever so weary
But wore a smile that was ever so kind.

Chorus: Oh! Just imagine
How things might have been
If the sun went round the moon
If I could sing in tune
If we still lived in the trees.

Oh! Just imagine
How things might have been
If the Earth were really flat
If we could really change the past
If they hadn’t dropped the bomb.

Their eyes met over coffee and ashtrays
At around about a quarter to nine
He flashed a grin that gave his feelings away
It spoke to her of being wined and dined.

He asked discreetly when she would clock off
‘In about an hour or two’ she replied
‘I’ll be waiting for you right on the corner’
Her lucky break suited her just fine.

Chorus

She finished up then took off her apron
And hung it on a hook behind the door
She hurried out and locked up behind her
The grind was getting to be such a bore.

His heart jumped as he saw her come out
He hurried up to be by her side
But didn’t see the car speeding towards him
She called out but wasn’t in time.

Chorus