The People That You Never Get to Love
Rupert Holmes Lyrics

You're browsing through a second hand bookstore
You are casually looking through used books in a store

And you see her in non-fiction V through why
You notice a woman browsing through the non-fiction section of the books, from the alphabetical range of V through Y

She looks up from World War II
She takes a break from reading a book about World War II and looks around

And then you catch her, catching, you catching her eye
She notices you looking at her, and you both make eye contact for a brief moment

And you quickly turn away your wishful stare
You try to hide the fact that you were staring at her by looking away quickly

And take a sudden interest in your shoes
You pretend to suddenly find your shoes interesting to avoid looking back at her

If you only had the courage but you don't
You wish you had the bravery to approach her, but you lack the confidence

She turns and leaves and you both lose
She walks away, and you miss the opportunity to meet her, causing both of you to miss out

And you think about
You reflect on

The people that you never get to love
The individuals you never had the chance to fall in love with

It's not as if you even have the chance
You never had the opportunity to pursue them

So many worth a second life
There are many people who are worthy of a chance to love again

But rarely do you get a second glance
However, these individuals often do not notice or consider you in the same way

Until fate cuts in on your dance
Until a chance encounter which seems serendipitous

And you'll see her on a train that you've just missed
You might catch a glimpse of her on a train you have just missed

At a bus stop where your bus will never stop
You could also see her at a bus stop where your bus doesn't halt

Or in a passing Buick
You might see her pass by in a nearby car

When you've been pulled over by a traffic cop
Even while being pulled over by a police officer, she could be in sight

Or you'll share an elevator, just you two
You might find yourself alone in an elevator with her

And you'll rise in total silence to the floor
Both of you silently rise to your destination floor

Like the fool you are, you get off
You make the foolish choice of getting off the elevator before her, even if it's not your floor, thus losing the chance to talk to her

And she leaves your life behind a closing door
She walks away from you, and the opportunity to know her, as the elevator door closes

The poem you intended to begin
The creative work you envisioned starting, but never did

But no one said you get to win
There is no guarantee that you will succeed or achieve your goals

Still you're never gonna miss what you don't know
You cannot miss opportunities you never had or were unaware of

And you don't know who you'll meet at half past three
You never know who you might encounter unexpectedly

It could be a total stranger
The person you might meet could be someone you don't know or have never met before

Who looks something just exactly much like me
Or it could be someone who happens to have similar physical features and maybe even personality traits as you

The people that you never get to love
Those who you never had the chance to fall in love with

One of the people that you never get to love
Specifically, one of those people you missed the chance to love

One of the people that you never get to love
Again underscored the idea that there are many people that you might never get the chance to love