"Shirt" Lyrics

(Bill Anderson - Mike Strickland)

Last night I was preparing to go to a party
And on the rack with my suits
I found the shirt that I'd worn
When I held her in my arms
For the very last time
The shirt that I vowed I'd never wear again.

As I took it from the rack
All my dreams came racin' back
The faint perfume of sweet love filled the night
I could see her face again
She kissed my lips as then
And I almost felt my arms around her tight.

A shirt that even the Gods must envy
For its arms once encircled
The dream that only heavens could bring.

Against this shirt once beat
The most wonderful heart in the whole wide world
And forever each thread shall remind me of her
I rolled down, I turned up sleeve and scaresly could believe
For I found a strand of her soft golden hair
I slowly took it down like a star from an angel's crown
I closed my eyes and softly said a prayer.

Then I walked to the window sill
My eyes began to fill
I thought I heard the soft wind call her name
And the shirt across my arm
Grew strangely soft and warm
As if I'd reached and held it to a flame.

And there I stood hearin' only the beat
Of my own aching heart
Lost in the dreams of what might have been
And the shirt seemed as sorrowful as I
And just as empty body and soul...