Love Story
Stephen Stills Lyrics

I'm out on the street
The singer is outside, perhaps aimlessly wandering.

All alone by the newsstand
He's standing alone by a newsstand, possibly observing the people around him.

The lady of leisure comes tearin' by
A woman who appears to be wealthy or carefree passes by in a hurry.

Almost knocking me down
She nearly collides with the singer, showing that she's not paying attention to her surroundings.

She turns at the corner and looking back
The woman turns a corner and glances back at the singer.

Lets her eyes send the message
She communicates something nonverbally through her eyes.

I'm helpless alone
The singer feels powerless and alone.

And I'm goin' down
He seems to be in a downward spiral of some sort.

Help me, I need someone gentle to love me
The singer is looking for someone caring and loving to help him out of his predicament.

My life is a miserable comedy
He sees his life as a tragicomedy, full of both humor and pain.

Of strangers posing as friends
People who pretend to be friends with the singer are really strangers to him.

I know they don't know who I am
He feels misunderstood and unnoticed by those around him.

Hurry, it's time to make your move boy
The singer is urging himself to take action and pursue the woman he just saw.

Hurry, you better get along with it soon boy
He knows that he needs to act fast before it's too late.

Hurry, there she goes
The woman is leaving, and the singer needs to catch up.

Hurry, gone out the door boy
She's already left, and he's running out of time.

You know you can win the battle
The singer believes he has a chance at winning the woman over.

But you can lose, you can lose the war
He's aware that he could still lose in the end.

Hurry, are your feet glued to the pavement boy?
He doubts himself and wonders if he's capable of taking action.

Thought I saw a fox, I did, I saw a fox
A metaphor for seeing something elusive and difficult to catch, like the woman he's chasing.

Amidst that sea of pride, running
The woman is running even though she seems confident and self-assured.

Let me call a hansom cab
The singer is considering calling a horse-drawn carriage, possibly to catch up to the woman.

We'll both get in and then go for a ride nowhere
He's not sure where he would take the woman, just that he wants to be with her.

Nothing spoken, I retreat
He doesn't take any action and instead backs away.

Find the subway, take a seat
The singer decides to go home via the subway and sits down on a bench.

I let myself get in my way
He realizes that he's the one holding himself back from pursuing the woman.

And let her get away
He's disappointed that he didn't take the opportunity to talk to her and possibly start a relationship.

I got off the train at the next stop
He decides not to go home but to try to find the woman again.

And headed back uptown
He's going back in the direction he saw the woman go earlier.

I knew I could find her
He's confident that he can track the woman down.

She so needed a friend
He believes that the woman needs someone to talk to and possibly confide in.

I found her alone in a doorway
The singer locates the woman standing alone in a doorway.

The tears in her eyes
She's crying and visibly upset.

Said there's nothing that you can say
She's telling the singer that he can't help her with whatever's troubling her.

I just need an ending
She wants to end whatever is causing her emotional distress.

I gave her a flower
The singer tries to give her something to cheer her up.

And got her to smile
His gesture works, and the woman smiles for the first time in the song.

And asked her quite frankly
He's being direct with her about his intentions.

Would she not prefer a beginning?
He's suggesting that instead of an ending, they could start a relationship together.