Mediocre Lover

I met her on the coast near where the spanish-moss was growing
and the red rockets land
I was a child there, hiding from the truths that made themselves
ever more prominent the farther that I ran
She never dwelled upon my past or expected of me more
than the same honesty she swore when we began
So I laughed and said she was a mediocre lover
and she called me a never present, guitar playing man

I spent the final dollar that I owned on trying to put
the smallest ring you've ever seen upon her hand
She cried when I asked for forgiveness
and said that it was perfect and was all she'd ever planned for
I lost all the innocence a child could possess
when our feet touched the California sand
with a mediocre lover who was bound to soon discover
life with a never present, guitar playing man

She'd sit awake at home and think about me
as I was gone running, rambling through this God-forsaken land
and call me every now and then to tell me she was proud
of how I always chased the dreams no one could understand
She'd tease that "1 to 3 odds, Tennessee will win your heart out over me
and I'll be left with nowhere sure to stand
because to you I'm just a mediocre lover and you'll always be
my never present, guitar playing man"

I'd spend months away, fly back again, she'd pick me up with my old friend
and I'd get jealous of the way she looked at him
She'd say, "Darlin', he's a good man; but you're the one I love
and I won't ever let him see or touch my skin"
Hindsight's clear as a river
Looking back I'd never give her time or chance to do it all over again
He found a mediocre lover in the bed of one who loved her
but was a never present, guitar playing man

I have a suitcase full of pictures and need a lawyer and some liquor
because breaking up costs more than I can comprehend
As she's staring at me from across this courtroom's cavernous hall
I wonder if I'll ever feel alive again?
I'll give back your heart, you give back mine
Sign upon the dotted line
If love was heaven, regret leaves you damned
It kind of helps you were a mediocre lover
but it hurts (that) I was a never present, guitar playing man

I often question if there is a way to just forget the scars
too many now to count on calloused hands
that I was given by a mediocre lover
and I gave by being a never present, guitar playing man?