Nothing Like Before

Nothing like before
Come on, love, open the door

Same blue hallway, different shoes
Same old number, different news
Your brother moved, your mother cried
The corner shop got modern signs
I kept a picture in my coat
Of two kids laughing near the road
I came back looking for that time
But time don't wait in a welcome line

I can touch the walls
But I can't touch the years
I can say your name
But it disappears

It's nothing like before
The key don't fit the door
I'm still dancing with the ghost
Of who we were before

La-la (like before)
La-la (open the door)
La-la (like before)
Nothing like before

I drove the long way to the schoolyard
The swings are gone, they paved the grass
A kid I'll never know runs laughing
Where I once watched the summers pass
I used to think that going back
Would give me back the boy I lost
Turns out you can keep the memory
You just can't pay the cost

It's nothing like before
The key don't fit the door
I'm still dancing with the ghost
Of who we were before

If I could go back, I wouldn't stay
I'd only tell us, you'll be okay
The photo in my coat is soft and torn
The light is still as warm
The light is still as warm

It's nothing like before
I leave the key beside the door
I bless the ghost, I let it go
Of who we were before

Come on, love
Nothing like before