Scuffed-up Shoes

Scuffed-up shoes from running loose
She's been living on the streets again
Knocking back the hardest drinks in the bar
Where she can pretend she's got friends
This guy compliments her and buys her a drink
But she blocks out what he says
She watches him slip off his wedding ring and thinks to herself
'Oh, man, here we go again...'

She drinks to forget how lonely she is
But only the lonely will buy her a drink
She looks around
And slams another glass down

With holes in the soles of her shoes she goes
Back to this married man's house
Up into his marital bedroom
The kids' pictures face-down
She closes her eyes as he touches her thighs
And she wonders what his wife must be like
If this is how a man treats his spouse and she's alone
Maybe she's doing alright

There's only so many men in this world
And none of them know how to treat a girl
She waits for him to sleep
And then she quietly leaves
Stealing some money from the side and flirting wild
With the driver of the taxi

She refuses his advances so he pulls her out of the car
He leaves her in a heap beside the bar

Talking to a stranger from out under her hair
He asks her 'Why you drinking?', she says 'Why do you care?'
And with a casual reply
He says, 'Some men are just nice'

She didn't believe him but what's another beating
So she went back to his place
She still didn't believe him but when they were finished
He wanted her to stay
So they talked all night about their lives
And in the morning stayed in bed all day

Maybe this one will work out alright
'Hey, baby, slide over, come on, hold me tight'
That itch that used to burn underneath her skin
The itch that she could only scratch with drink
Is all at once soothed by him
When he says,
'I love you'.