He was so handsome, hazel eyes and a gentle hand,
And I was barely twenty-five.
He ordered vodka on the rocks with a splash of cran,
And kept me in the corner of his eye.
We survived the 80’s, Christian right, and Southern glares.
We were not scared of HIV.
I became a father, he a father, with a life to share.
We were in love and we were free.
A 3/2 in the suburbs, covered porch, and a climbing tree,
PTA and little league.
He’d come home from work and kiss my face and sweeten the tea,
Kick off his shoes and humor me.
A date night on a Tuesday in a theatre parking lot,
Just a holdin’ hands like we always do.
They came up yelling “faggots”, broke some bottles and fired shots,
When they took his life, they took mine too.
And we,
We have come so far,
We have come so far,
From that day.
Yeah, we,
We have come so far,
We have come so far,
From that day,
But we’re still so far away,
Equal signs and marriage rights and rainbow day parades,
If he were alive, he’d surely say,
We’re still so far away,
We’re still so far away.
The latest from Smoking Flowers blends rich Americana and driving riffs with haunting atmospherics to exuberant effect. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 9, 2018