Waving Goodbye 03: Papa Stay and Fight

I finally went over to see the old man, much as I didn’t want to.  He was lying in bed with a little thin sheet over him, the window open.  He started talking to me, mumbling, his lips weren’t even moving.  It was like how he’d tell me stories when I was a kid, except now he was the one lying down, and I the one kneeling beside him.  “You know how it is, Johny…frogs, lice, pestilence, wild animals.  There’s nothing left here.  I thought I’d even lost you.  Can’t you just put me in a boat and row me over to the other shore?  Look at me.  I’m covered with sores and boils, you can see how it is.  I can’t stay here.  Can’t you see that? There’s a place on the other side of the river where I can be healed.  I don’t want to stay here.  Can’t you take me there?”  “I know Pop,” I said.  “Except I’m staying.  Can’t you stay a while too?  I know it’s probably only going to get worse. I guess…listen, get out if you can.  I’m staying here.”


Papa Stay and Fight lyrics