“When He Was Here“ - Janis Ian

“When He Was Here“: Words and music by Janis Ian & Lance Cowan Performed by Janis Ian WHEN HE WAS HERE He got the new car, she got the kids They sold the house and lived apart I kept the memories of how it had been Kept every picture in my heart When he was here, she would smile They would laugh for a while She would ask, “Am I still your only one?“ They would dance cheek to cheek by the light of our TV, and she never needed memories when he was here He found his freedom, she found a job and gave away the wedding gown Spent every weekend calling her old friends asking discreetly “What’s he doing now?“ Chorus The letters and the photographs are locked away for rainy days when we are brave I ask her did she taste forever in his kiss? Does it have to end like this? both of us just wishing he was here She would smile, they would laugh for a while Then she would ask, “Am I still your only one?“ and they would dance cheek to cheek by the light of the TV, and we never needed memories when he was here I invited Lance to write one night after I saw him playing third-string at a local writer’s night. He had an incredible song about the Holocaust that inspired me to go home and begin working on “Tattoo“. This song is still one of my favorites; it says a lot of what I felt when my folks divorced, and I’d imagine what a lot of other people feel under the same circumstance. Copyright Taosongs Two (50%)/Forrest Hills Music Inc./Sony Publishing. International copyright secured. All rights reserved; used by permission. Archival photographs provided by Janis Ian. All rights reserved; used by permission. Follow for hundreds of downloads from mp3s to coloring pages. Feel free to make your own version, because music is for everyone! Subscribe to this channel: Check out and Janis Ian on iTunes: