telephone

Isn't it true that a telephone never rings when you need it to?

Jill stands on the corner with an anxious look on her face;
been waiting there for ages without a single trace
of the boy who promised he’d surely be there by eight;
she’s starting to worry; concerned about his fate.

She’s waiting for the telephone to ring
but scared what the call might bring;
you can’t do a thing
waiting for the telephone to ring.

Billy needs a job; got a family of five to support;
he’s been through all the papers and gone round door to door;
his last chance opportunity said he’d call back at four;
he waits by the callbox, jeans all dirty and tore.

He’s waiting for the telephone to ring
but scared what the call might bring;
you can’t do a thing
waiting for the telephone to ring.

Ain’t it strange how that thing can ring
all day long when you’re trying to think,
but any time you want to hear that bell
it sits in silence putting you through hell.

Waiting for the telephone to ring
but scared what the call might bring;
you can’t do a thing
waiting for the telephone to ring.

John’s pacing up and down; first baby on the way;
wishing he could be at the hospital easing her pain;
but he’s stuck in Denver five hundred miles away;
wearing out the rug as he shelters from the rain.

He’s waiting for the telephone to ring
but scared what the call might bring;
you can’t do a thing
waiting for the telephone to ring.

Waiting for the telephone to ring
but scared what the call might bring;
you can’t do a thing
waiting for the telephone to ring.

(©2002 Stewart Bowman)