Annie & Oliver

Everybody thinks they know what love is. Authors, poets, musicians- We met when I was 20 years old. When Annie walked in that room, I knew I was in love. Well, I thought I was in love, because everybody thinks they know what love is. Even though I had never seen her before, it felt like she was my best friend. She was so unique, yet so familiar. She's completely herself, but isn't everybody? And she sees the best in others, always, but doesn't everybody? Though she's never said she knows what love is, I'm convinced she's the only person that does. Because she sees me through those beautiful, beautiful eyes and says, "I don't love you, Oliver. I love who you are." And I say, "Annie, isn't that the same thing?" "No. No," she says. "You have changed, but you've always been who you are. I knew that from the beginning." And she kisses me. And it's funny, because everybody thinks they know what love is - what is looks like, what it feels like - But nobody thinks about who love is. My love is Annie Harding. And I know it.

We met in my twenty-first Abysmal summer on this earth It seems fate took its time with me and her Two months I was back in town To see the folks and kick around When my old pals acquainted me and her Though the pad was cool and all It seemed that we preferred the wall And found ourselves alone, just me and her So we split and out of view We laughed and made our big debut The first duet of Annie and Oliver Annie and Oliver wah beyooby dooby ooh Annie and Oliver wah beyooby dooby ooh Annie and Oliver wah beyooby dooby ooh Annie and Oliver wah beyooby dooby ooh Annie and Oliver So those days were out of sight We fell in love in morning light The sunrise smiling down at me and her I mentioned the world once and she's Tried to give it to me ever since Two months went by in a flash And I had to head back over west Those thin Chicagoan walls weren't the only ones calling my name So they told me later that She snuck out past the gate, her dad was not too fond of my old pals and me But had she not joined us then I don't think that there would have been A such a thing as Oliver and Annie and Oliver wah beyooby dooby ooh Annie and Oliver wah beyooby dooby ooh Annie and Oliver wah beyooby dooby ooh Annie and Oliver wah beyooby dooby ooh Annie and Oliver Years have passed since that July We've heard our babies' babies cry Another blessing fate gave me and her Though we've been through thick and thin We tell each other with a grin That no one else compares to me and her

I told my folks when I left I was gone Moving up moving on Heading west to go find what I want Someday my name'll be written in brick Not in biscuits or grits Or in plastic above upper fifth And so I sit by the lake and I've read All the books that have said I have power to change what's ahead I found the world is a scarier place When it's I that must face Each capricious decision of fate I was awoken at night by my dreams Turned to nightmares it seems I'd forgotten who I wanna be My folks invited me back to New York Just to chat and be bored And I didn't expect anymore Then I found her Doo doo doo Annie and Oliver...

The night I met her She saw me as I was Someone who needed A hand to see who he'd become I tried before that To make it on my own She said "Only fools go on alone" And so from then on I felt the past dissolve And when she kissed me She showed me what it means to love She told me where I'm meant to be Is where I'll find the love that fits me naturally Then she looked at me When she walked into the room She turned away from what she knew With a smile she knew for sure That everybody looked at her Then she looked at me And then she told me Her father wasn't kind So many stories And all that I could do was cry

If you're in need of a plate or a glass Well then your search is over at last Cos the best addition to every kitchen Is a dish with the Harding name on the back

She sat in her yard And fenced in by wood Was good from afar Yet still far from good When it rained, she cried It only made sense That on summer nights She hopped o'er the fence And into the light When she came, they smiled Locked inside her ivory tower She read books that spoke of power Feelings she had only seen Dissonance of forced desire Scored the moments passing by her Every night she'd fall asleep When she sleeps she dreams Of needles threads and seams Designer magazines The day she finds her way To someplace kind and safe Is fading as she wakes So she took the wrist Of fate and gave a twist Insisting this is it Annie and Oliver Annie and Oliver Annie and Oliver I love you, I love you

I left my wallet in the cab She left her tennies near the pond How will she explain that to her dad Wonder if he'll notice when she's back New York City never looked so pretty New York City never looked so pretty She left her misery behind I left my dread in Illinois Wounded souls are often the most kind I saw understanding in her eyes New York City never looked so pretty New York City never looked so pretty New York City never looked so pretty New York City never looked so pretty

We've had such a good time together I sure wish it could last forever After the moment I leave you I'll pray and I'll hope just to see you Well Annie I know I gotta head west But Annie I don't want us to end But Annie I know it all just depends Your old man doesn't want me to see you again Why'd I have to go fall For a girl with her name on my dishes Mama said she'd seen it before Now it's perfectly clear I can't handle the heat So I gotta get out of the kitchen And I don't wanna leave but I can't stay here You know that it's gonna be hard To wake up and smile when we're so far apart But Annie I know we're not gonna end So Annie I don't mind heading west But Annie I know we're not gonna end So Annie I don't mind heading west

When darkness crept into my fragile mind, I tore my ego down before it could. In picking up the pieces, I would find A further distance from myself to good. When corn and apples swapped with steel and glass, My chest grew tight and worry filled my head. What stopped me simply falling in the past? The girl that I was falling for instead. She taught me to accept the way I feel And grow forever inwardly to find What ego wants to so vainly to conceal That I'm enough when I am flawed and kind. It seems the journey back here let me see My love is never far away from me.

Annie and Oliver Annie and Oliver Annie and Oliver Annie and Oliver Annie and Oliver

Tap, tap, rain is drizzling down the window Scratch, scratch, dragging ink on a page Three weeks since I made it to Chicago Sure seems so much longer today She said since I headed west He's been worse than he's ever been Creak, creak, moving slowly down the hallway Peek, peek, round the corner to see Oh Annie, don't you remember you said "You know you need to hang on to your head" "And I can't wait to see you again" Click, click, typing notes of his to file Sip, sip, seems the coffee is out She sits, thinks of when she was a child Some kid, what is she doing now She said, since I headed west She's dreamt more than she's ever dreamt Oh Annie, don't you remember you said "You know you need to hang on to your head" "And I can't wait to see you again"

Boy, I was shocked when she ran up and tapped my window I wouldn't have thought that she could make it to Chicago To spend all that time, I know the train was such a doozy But it was her trying just to give the world to me She said she was sorry that she didn't write a letter But she came this far and I'm just happy we're together Hop-a-long, little birdie Don't listen to your daddy, hop on Hop-a-long, little birdie But don't you tell your daddy you're gone And it was so hard to phone and write so many letters So she came this far and now I'm happy we're together Hop-a-long, little birdie Don't listen to your daddy, hop on Hop-a-long, little birdie But don't you tell your daddy you're gone

Honey, the cat knocked over the dishes again, and they broke again! Oh gosh, not again! What are we going to do? Well I suppose we'll have to go to the store and buy new dishes. New dishes? But it seems all dishes are the same anymore. Well, my friend, this wouldn't have happened had you purchased Harding Dishware. Harding Dishware? What's so special about that? Could it get rid of our cat? Haha, no. But, Harding Dishware is made of a durable plastic material, so you'll never have to worry about broken dishes again. Well that sounds wonderful! Thanks, Harding Dishware! Harding Dishware: the dishware that has your back because it's made to last.

Oliver and Annie Oliver and Annie Oliver and Annie Oliver and Annie

Four months felt much longer Distance felt so wrong her Journey only proved our love was stronger Four months on the phone we Wanted one thing only After all we're finally alone