The Way It Was
By Ilya Chervony · American Chanson
Read lyrics
I left before the sun came up,
Your picture on the dash.
The highway rolled beyond the town,
The morning came on fast.
A coffee cup, an old road map,
Some change inside my coat.
I said I only needed time,
But I knew what I was doing.
By noon, the rain was coming down,
I pulled beside a store.
I found your letter in my bag
And read it once more.
You didn't ask me to come back.
You didn't wish me well.
Four lines written in blue ink—
And nothing more to tell.
That was the way it was,
When goodbye still felt like maybe.
When you lose somebody you love
And leave before you're ready.
I can hear that old radio,
I can see that roadside sign.
For one more mile, for one more song,
You were still mine—
The way it was.
I drove through there last autumn.
The motel wasn't there.
The diner had a boarded door,
Weeds growing through the chairs.
A freight train crossed the darkness.
I watched the windows glow.
I thought about the man I was
Before I had to go.
I don't blame you for leaving.
I don't blame myself for staying.
Some things don't need an answer.
They just fade without explaining.
That was the way it was,
When goodbye still felt like maybe.
When you lose somebody you love
And leave before you're ready.
I can hear that old radio,
I can see that roadside sign.
I remember who we were—
The way it was.
I keep driving...
The way it was.