[Verse 1]
I was grinding through my day gig
Stackin' cutouts at the Strand
When in walks Franny from NYU
We were quite an item back then
We talked about her films and shows and CDs
Don't know what else
She said, "Yeah, Hollywood's been good to me
But tell me—how about yourself?"

[Chorus]
"I'm still working on that novel
But I'm just about to quit
'Cause I'm worrying about the future now
Or maybe this is it
It's not all that I thought it would be
What a shame about me"

[Verse 2]
She said, "Talk to me, do you ever see
Anybody else from our old crew?
Bobby Dakine won the Bunsen Prize
He's coming out with something new
Alan owns a chain of Steamer Heavens
Barry is the software king
And somebody told me in the early eighties
You were gonna be the next big thing"
[Chorus]
"Well now that was just a rumor
But I guess I'm doin' fine
Three weeks out of the rehab
Livin' one day at a time
Sneakin' up on the new century
What a shame about me"

[Bridge]
What a shame about me
I'm thinking of a major Jane Street sunrise
And the goddess on the fire escape was you

[Verse 3]
We both ran out of small talk
The connection seemed to go dead
I was about to say, "Hey, have a nice life"
When she touched my hand and said:
"I just had this great idea
Could be very cool
Why don't we grab a cab to my hotel
And make believe we're back at our old school?"

[Chorus]
I said, "Babe, you look delicious
And you're standin' very close
But like, this is Lower Broadway
And you're talkin' to a ghost
Take a good look it's easy to see
What a shame about me"
What a shame about me
[Outro]
Shame (What a shame)
A shame about me
Shame (I don't know)
A shame about me (Tell the truth, shame shame shame)
Shame (Ah)
A shame about me
Shame (Shame)
A shame about me (Oh, oh, shame)
Shame (Oh)
A shame about me (Shame)