"For The Sake Of The Song" lyrics - TOWNES VAN ZANDT

Oh, why does she sing her sad songs for me,
I'm not the one
Tenderly bring her soft sympathy
I've just begun
To see my way clear
And it's plain,
If I stop I will fall
I can lay down a tear for her pain
Just a tear and that's all

Oh , what does she want me to do?
She says that she knows
That moments are rare
I suppose that it's true
Then on she goes
To say I don't care,
Ah, she knows
That I do

Maybe she just has to sing, for the sake of the song
And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong

She'd like to think I was cruel,
But she knows that's a lie
For I would be
No more than a tool
If I allowed her to cry
All over me.

Oh my sorrow is real
Even though
I can't change my plan
If she could see how I feel
Then I know
That she'd understand

Oh does she actually think I'm to blame?
Does she really believe
That some word of mine
Could relieve
All her pain?
Can't she see that she grieves
Just because she's been blindly deceived
By her shame?

Maybe she just has to sing, for the sake of the song
And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong

Oh but nothin's what it seems,
Maybe she'll start someday to realize
If she abandons her dreams,
Then all the words she can say are only lies
Why can't she see that to gain
Is only to lose?
All that she offers me are her chains
And I got to refuse

Oh but it's only to herself that she's lied
She likes to pretend
There's something that she should defend,
With her pride
And I don't intend
To stand her and be the friend
From whom she must hide

Maybe she just has to sing, for the sake of the song
And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong