The Next Best Thing Lyrics

I saw you through the window

Thought I'd lost my mind

I motioned you outside

I wrapped my arms around you

And I cried and cried

Then you dried my eye

I knew you shouldn't be here

Yet there you stood

In the same old clothes

But you were looking good

You said you'd only been away a little while

And I could only smile

It's not the same

As really happening

It's not the same thing

The weather started turning

As the moon went higher

So we lit a fire

I asked you every question

There beside the pyre

It was all that I desired

I don't recall the answers

That you gave to me

But I recall your voice

And your company

I paid close attention as everything dissolved

And your name I called

It's not the same

As really happening

But a dream is the next best thing

I know it was a voyage

I'm glad you left your post

My mind's a gracious host

One minute you're a human

And the next a ghost

The thing I fear the most

The "you" is always changing here inside my songs

But I know who you are

And I know where you belong

I feel your presence everywhere

And the space between

Your genes are in my genes

It's not the same

As really happening

But a dream is the next best thing