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 brunnette, who I never met But I never would forget How she looked in that dress How she stook 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 werefolded 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 said: 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're 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! So 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