Just a boy and a girl at the roller rink
He wrote you letters full of fever dreams
Your love was a wildfire
Raging in the California sun
And even your name means, "alive and free."
But you were too dark for that southern scene
And it was easy enough to write you out of history
Back when he was gone or on drugs
And I'm not saying it didn't work out like it should have
With all parties better off in the end
But I can believe, when it comes to walking lines,
Thirteen years was a long, goddamn time
So here's one more line for you, Vivian
And as for the one I love, I pray he's doing well
I hope he tells the side of things that he only he can tell
And I hope our friends forgive him
'Cause my happiness, it isn't zero sum
Yeah, but all these sobered up cowboys, with their albums and their fame
Their songs of second chances find redemption and acclaim
But they land a little different
In my ears, the ringing name, Vivian
And I'm not saying it didn't work out like it should have
With all parties better off in the end
But if you can speak your piece, then I guess, so can I
Because these fourteen years have been a long, goddamn time
And I'll try and make mine rhyme for you, Vivian
Vivian, Vivian
And time rolls on, it's a train on a track
It spins with the wheels of a black Cadillac
Forgive us all for our acceptable collateral
For tending and upending, in the name of the garden
I believe it works out for the good and
Everything comes up roses in the end
But no matter where they lead, when it comes to walking lines
This aching in your feet lasts a long, goddamn time
So here's one more line for you, Vivian, Vivian
My darling
Vivian