You were everyone's dream date to homecoming
You wore that top hat and black shoes you alone could pull off
And you knew it
So when you showed up on my doorstep last night I asked,
"Don't you have someone to dance with Broadway?
Cause there's a line from here to London just wasting away to tango with you."
And you said, "I'm sick of the lines and the lights, I just need somewhere to go."
"Take a seat and we'll look at the stars
On the lights that shine on everyone, but you, Broadway,
You get to choose upon whom the light shines brightest
Who gets to rule The Great White Way."
You said, "I'm sick of being ruled,
Of the lights and the cars and the flash of cameras."
And I said, "Why? You are that shining beacon,
The reason a little boy in Indiana can deal with the teasing
Because one day they will all know his name because of you."
And you looked at me with eyes that have seen a million dashed hopes.
You bit the lips that have said a million rejections
And you sighed the sigh of a lost dream.
For every star there were a hundred others
Whose hearts now streak that Great White Way.
I guess it's not so pure as snow.
You looked at me and extended you hand
"Do you wanna dance?"
On cue an orchestra started, because that's your power, Broadway
And I looked up at everything I had once wanted and I said,
"There's a girl down the street who's more deserving of this waltz than me
And she needs you tonight."
"She's just a better twirler," you said,
"You're the better dancer."
So I took your hand, as so many girls have, and we danced under the stars,
Because no one can say no to you,
And I thought of all the people who would shoot me dead
For this one spin by moonlight.
I thought how two years ago I was one of those people.
"What's it like being wanted?" I asked
"What's it like to have people post pictures of you on their hearts
And sing your songs until their lips turn to dust?
He smiled and said, "What's it like to be free?
What's it like to live a life where every mistake isn't splashed across page 6
And people who walk by turn away don't their heads for shame
When you wear out your welcome?"
I smiled back and fell into perfectly choreographed steps.
We fell into that false perfection of a waltz and then you looked at me.
"You're seven minutes are up, hun,
And unless you've got something more to offer, I've got another dance tonight."
And there you were, ready for me to stay.
"I'm sorry," I said "I guess I'm not that interesting tonight."
You waited a beat longer and then spun around on your heels
And walked into the night.
"We could have made it" you mumbled under your breath.
It's a lie. We both know it.
I sat on that step the rest of the night,
And I watched the glitter you left behind slowly fade away,
And then I went back into the house, and back to a life
Without the glitter and the dancing.
