The war was over, I was living with my folks
I yelled upstairs, "Hey Ma, I'm off to grab some smokes."
And my father called, "Why you need to smoke so late?"
I lied
I had a date

Free of my folks' enslavement
Skipping along the pavement
To see a brunette
Who I never met

But I never would forget
How she looked in that dress
How she stuck out her hand and said
"My name is Cecily Smith
And I hope you like music
Cause I've got two tickets for La Traviata"

That's when I said "I hate opera!"
She laughed and said
"Well lucky for you that you're with Cecily Smith
Who cares what you are listening to, it's who you're listening with."

We take our seats
Her hands were folded in her lap
If not a kiss
Then I at least will get a nap

So I close my eyes as the orchestra begins
Then I hear violins

And the hair on my neck was rising
A feeling new and surprising
But it wasn't the sound that made my heart pound
No, it was because I found that her hand was in mine

And that's where it will stay until they play the final chord
She says "Were you bored?"
And I say, "I guess it wasn't quite so bad
It was the best time that I'd ever had."

She laughed and said
"Well lucky for you, I got seats to Beethoven's Fifth
Who cares what you are listening to, it's who you're listening with."

A perfect wife
A perfect life

Time exploded, like a bullet from a gun
A week, a year, and then a marriage and a son
And a rental where I still can hear her laugh
When I play the phonograph!

And I let the music guide me
And Cecily sits beside me
A girl of nineteen
With a nervous marine
Feel her head begin to lean
As the melody soars

And though it was real
It doesn't feel like it could be
That night when you said to me
"I've got two tickets for La Traviata"

It's sad but true
How much I miss you
I miss you, Cecily Smith
Life is not the things that we do, it's who we're doing them with