Past Imperfect
Lloyd Cole Lyrics

Excuse me, could I use your pen
May I borrow your pen, please?

I have mislaid my own
I have lost my pen.

Somewhere out here in space and time
I am not sure where I lost it, it could be anywhere.

Between this place and home
Perhaps I lost it on my way from here to my home.

Maybe she lies on the subway platform
Maybe my pen is lying forgotten and abandoned on the subway platform.

Forsaken and forlorn
Alone and unloved, as if it was never important to me.

All of this and more and that's not all
There are many other things that I have lost, and these were just small things.

I can't recall
I cannot remember, even though I have tried.

What was on my mind in Amsterdam
What was I thinking about when I was in Amsterdam?

In 1984?
In the year 1984 specifically.

And what did I want from the pouring rain
What was I hoping to gain from standing out in the rain?

Was it phonographic score?
Did I want to listen to vinyl records?

And why was my head in the unmade bed
Why was I lying in bed with someone?

With a girl who's name I lost?
But unfortunately, I cannot remember her name.

I can't unwrite the tune
I cannot forget the melody which was probably on my mind.

Or discount the cost
Nor can I ignore the price I paid for my actions.

I met a bartender at 3 of Clubs
Once I met a bartender at a bar called 3 of Clubs.

Which is somewhere in LA
The bar was somewhere in Los Angeles.

I thought, maybe, he was a friend of mine
I had a feeling that I knew him from somewhere.

I almost knew his face
I recognized his face but not with 100% certainty.

Reluctantly impressionist
I reluctantly relied on my own perception, which may not have been accurate.

No star to chart my course
I did not have any guidance or direction in my life.

Ships pass in the night and take on board
Opportunities and people come and go in our lives.

More than I recall
More than I can remember.

Maybe she lies on the check out station
Perhaps my pen is forgotten and lost at the checkout station.

I've half a mind to find myself
I feel like I need to find myself, my identity.

And half...
But I am hesitant or uncertain about taking action.

I can't recall
I cannot remember the details of my past.

Precise Coordinates
I cannot remember the exact details or location.

Entire relationships
I cannot recreate or revive my past relationships.

The colour of her eyes
I cannot remember the small but critical details about someone, like her eye colour.

Or the feeling of her skin
Nor can I recall how it felt to touch her skin.

Pressing against mine
Physical intimacy that I shared with someone is something of a blur now.