Lyrics Fourteen Days - Steve Goodman

Fourteen Days

When Johnny got the letter
It had no return address
But he recognized the writing
And he didn’t have to guess
And the postmark said Seattle
Just a thousand miles away
And so he put it in the drawer
For fourteen days
Every night he’d take that envelope
Hold it up to the light
But he never tore it open to see what lay inside
He remembered how it hurt
The night she turned and walked away
So he kept the letter sealed
For fourteen days
Fourteen days it lay unopened
Fourteen days it stayed unread
Fourteen nights he dreamed about her
In what used to be their bed
Though his heart and soul were achin'
Johnny’s pride got in the way
And he kept the letter sealed
For fourteen days
Then one night he couldn’t stand it
Johnny took it from the drawer
He read the words she’d sent to him
Just two short weeks before
The tears fell hard as Johnny read
The words she had to say
«Boy I’m coming home to you in fourteen days»
«Dear John: I know I hurt you, but I pray that you’ll forgive
And if you don’t take me back again, then, I don’t want to live
If you’re there when I step off the plane
Then I’ll be yours, always
I arrive at four p.m.
in fourteen days.»
Johnny raced out to the airport
On the chance that she might wait
But the terminal was empty
And he knew he was too late
He cursed himself for letting his one true love slip away
For a letter that he held for fourteen days
Fourteen days it lay unopen
Fourteen days it stayed unread
Fourteen nights he dreamed about her
And the good times that they had
And Johnny knew he’d lost her
And there was nothing left to say
He tore up the note he’d held for fourteen days
Now the next day in Seattle
The morning headline read
«Another Jane Doe Suicide — Young Girl Lying Dead.»
Scrawled upon the crumpled piece of paper where she lay
«I'm coming home to you in fourteen days.»