Charlie in Hollywood

Charlie came back to Hollywood
Just as I was leaving

I guess he had lived there for a little while
And wanted to see how the place had changed

We met up at this pool party
Where neither of us knew the host
And the party didn't start until 2am

It makes sense if you've ever lived in L.A.

I remember sitting on this patio
And the weather...

You know when weather is so damn good
You suddenly have philosophies on life

Like, a night is perfect
And you're just so amazed by it
You suddenly think you're Copernicus
Or something

We were sitting in these really comfortable chairs
And the L.A. night was just gorgeous
Aside from the air pollution
And the sound of a car alarm going off
Somewhere down the road

Charlie was older at that point
Old enough to be my dad
And when I took his hand
And put it on my breast
I could see he was a little taken aback

'C'mon, Charlie,' I said, 'How many more chances are you going to get to sleep with a girl my age?'

I could see him calculating the odds
And when he figured them out
He went along quietly
To a guest room
Where the walls had dead celebrities
Painted on them

I'll admit it was a little bit difficult making love
With Bette Davis staring back at you

Maybe some people get off on that kind of thing
But it's just not for me

After we were finished
We walked to the bus station
And Charlie put me on a bus back home

I won't tell you where home is
Because it's not pertinent to the story

What I will tell you
Is that Charlie asked me more questions about myself that night
Than anyone else had in my entire life up to that point

We were laying in bed
And doing this thing
It's sort of...

I'd say 'Charlie, where are we?' and he'd say 'Sitting on the "O" in the Hollywood sign.'

Then he'd ask me where we were, and I'd say 'Sitting on our porch watching our kids play in the front yard.'

We'd go back and forth

He'd say Paris
I'd say Maine

He'd say in a submarine
I'd say in a canoe

He'd say 'When I was younger'
And I'd say 'Ten years from now'

We made up all these movies
All these great memories
We were never going to have

Charlie passed by me, you know?

Some people, they do that

It's a motif in the movies

The beautiful girl on the passing train
Or the bus
Or the Thunderbird

A perfect moment
That the hero
Tries to recapture
By finding the girl again
But can't

That's what it was like with Charlie

He was passing by me
Even as I was holding onto him

Being with him
Was like being in my favorite movie

It was surreal
And wonderful
And sort of heartbreaking
Because movies end, you know?

That's the thing about movies

Even the best ones
Have to end