No Telling - Tom Russell

He came in to the ballroom, just a crazy old man

And his eyes seemed to glaze in the light

He was just some old cowboy, to judge by his rags

He’d rode in from the cold of the night

The whole room was dancing, they paid him no mind

As he slipped to the bar and said, «Would you please be so kind.»

And the music kept ringing in the back of his mind

There’s no telling what a love song can do

Well, the queen of the ballroom sang her favourite song

And he stood there with his glass in his hand

He was weary of living the days of his life

And tonight was the last he could stand

He shut out the future, he shut out the past

And even the present was closing down fast

As the queen of the ballroom said, «We'll make this the last.»

There’s no telling what a love song can do

She started to sing for the very last time

And he stood there, trembled all alone

And the pain he’d been holding inside for so long

Just fell from his heart and was gone

It was only a love song, simple and clear

And he bowed as it shook him with every last tear

And he cried from relief and he cried half from fear

There’s no telling what a love song will do

Oh, the queen of the ballroom still glitters and shines

Each night at the Old Time Parade

And maybe it’s something they put in the wine

But her beauty refuses to fade

«I think she got married to a stranger», they say

«Just a crazy old cowboy who rode in one day.»

And the whole town still dances and the music still plays

There’s no telling what a love song can do

And the whole town is dancing and the music still plays

There’s no telling what a love song can do