In The Shelter

Jimmy Buffett

In the shelter, in the morning as

the sun was brightly gleaming,

I heard her crying out,

"What is it all about? I just don't know,

but I can't go back home."

Lonely princess, all the days out

on your own are growing empty.

Nothin' is goin' well; if you

could only tell them how you feel.

But they're too real to understand.

Too many trite expressions ending in

forced rejection long ago.

Too many innocent faces in too many

far-out places; something's wrong.

Let me tell you that something's wrong.

It's been thatway so long, and it's a shame.

On the street car to the city,

where she knows that she may lose it all,

riding for just a dime,

takin' her own sweet and knowing well

that this could be her final fall,

past the boutique, down the alley,

to the river, people pass her by.

She sits on the big grey rocks;

takes off her boots and socks,

not knowing what she will do next;

just starts to cry.

To many small suggestions ending in

angry questions from her dad.

To many TV dinners; ah, everyone

loves a winner, but she has lost.

No ones knows the trials she had.

In the shelter, in the morning as

the sun was brightly gleaming,

I heard her crying out,

"What is it all about? I just

don't know, but I can't go back home."

Hell, I just don't know, but

I can't go back home.