Cecily Smith
Will Connolly Lyrics
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I yelled upstairs "Hey mom, Iโฒm off to grab some smokes"
And my father called, "Why you need to smoke so late?"
Well I'd lied, I had a date
Free from my folksโฒ enslavement
Skippin' along the pavement
To see a brunnette, who I'd never met
How she stuck out her hand and said
"My name is Cecily Smith and I hope you like music
โฒCause Iโฒve got two tickets for La Traviata"
That's when I said, "I hate opera"
She laughed and said, "Well lucky for you
That youโฒre with Cecily Smith
Who cares what you are listening to
It's who youโฒre listening with"
So we take our seats, her hands are folded in her lap
If not a kiss, then I at least will get a nap
So I close my eyes as the orchestra begins
Then I hear violins
And the hair on my neck was rising
A feeling new and surprising
But it wasn't the sound that made my heart pound
No, it was because I found her hand is in mine
And thatโฒs where it will stay until they play the final chord
She says, "Were you bored?"
And I say, "I guess it wasn't quite so bad;
It was the best time that I ever had"
She laughed and said, "Well lucky for you
I got seats to Beethoven's Fifth,
Who cares what you are listening to
Itโฒs who youโฒre listening with"
A perfect wife
A perfect life
The time exploded like a bullet from a gun
A week, a year, and then a marriage, and a son
And a rental where I still can hear her laugh
When I play the phonograph
So I let the music guide me
And Cecily sits beside me
A girl of nineteen, with a nervous marine
Feel her head begin to lean, as the melody soars
And though it was real, it doesn't feel like it could be
That night when you said to me
That Iโฒve got two tickets for La Traviata
It's sad but true, how much I miss you
I miss you Cecily Smith
Life is not the things that we do
Itโฒs who we're doing them with
The song "Cecily Smith" by Will Connolly tells the story of a young man who falls in love with a girl named Cecily Smith after she offers him tickets to La Traviata, an opera he claims to hate. The singer's initial motivation for going out that night is to buy cigarettes, but little does he know it will turn out to be a life-changing event.
As they sit together during the performance, he gradually becomes more entranced by the music and by Cecily herself, eventually holding her hand and realizing that "it's who you're listening with" that matters more than what you're listening to. The rest of the song details their life together, including marriage and a son, and concludes with the bittersweet realization that even though Cecily is no longer with him, the memories they shared and the music they loved will always be a part of his life.
The song is a poignant tribute to the power of music and love to transcend time and bring people together. It speaks to the idea that our most cherished memories come not from the things we do, but from the people we share those experiences with.
Line by Line Meaning
The war was over, I was living with my folks
I had come back to live with my parents after the war.
I yelled upstairs "Hey mom, Iโฒm off to grab some smokes"
I shouted to let my mother know that I was going out.
And my father called, "Why you need to smoke so late?"
My father asked me why I needed to smoke at that time of night.
Well I'd lied, I had a date
I had lied about needing to get cigarettes, because I actually had a date.
Free from my folksโฒ enslavement
I felt free from my parents' control.
Skippin' along the pavement
I was skipping happily down the street.
To see a brunnette, who I'd never met
I was going to meet a girl I had never met before who had brown hair.
But I never would forget, how she looked in that dress
I would always remember how beautiful she looked in her dress.
How she stuck out her hand and said
She held out her hand and introduced herself.
"My name is Cecily Smith and I hope you like music
She told me her name was Cecily Smith and asked if I liked music.
โฒCause Iโฒve got two tickets for La Traviata"
She offered me tickets to the opera La Traviata.
That's when I said, "I hate opera"
I told her that I didn't like opera.
She laughed and said, "Well lucky for you
She laughed and said that I was lucky.
That youโฒre with Cecily Smith
Because I was with her.
Who cares what you are listening to
It didn't matter what we were listening to.
It's who youโฒre listening with"
It mattered who we were listening to it with.
So we take our seats, her hands are folded in her lap
We sat down and she put her hands in her lap.
If not a kiss, then I at least will get a nap
If I couldn't kiss her, then I was at least going to take a nap.
So I close my eyes as the orchestra begins
I closed my eyes as the orchestra started playing.
Then I hear violins
I heard the violins.
And the hair on my neck was rising
I got goosebumps.
A feeling new and surprising
It was a new and unexpected feeling.
But it wasn't the sound that made my heart pound
It wasn't just the music that made me feel that way.
No, it was because I found her hand is in mine
It was because I was holding her hand.
And thatโฒs where it will stay until they play the final chord
I held her hand until the end of the show.
She says, "Were you bored?"
She asked if I was bored.
And I say, "I guess it wasn't quite so bad;
I told her that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
It was the best time that I ever had"
I thought it was the best time I ever had.
I got seats to Beethoven's Fifth,
She got us tickets to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
A perfect wife
She was the perfect wife for me.
A perfect life
We had a perfect life together.
The time exploded like a bullet from a gun
The time went by too quickly.
A week, a year, and then a marriage, and a son
We were together for a week, then a year, got married, and had a son.
And a rental where I still can hear her laugh
We rented a house where I can still hear her laugh.
When I play the phonograph
When I listen to music on the phonograph.
So I let the music guide me
I let the music take me back to our memories.
And Cecily sits beside me
In my memories, Cecily is sitting next to me.
A girl of nineteen, with a nervous marine
She was nineteen years old and I was a nervous marine.
Feel her head begin to lean, as the melody soars
As the music gets louder, I feel her head leaning on my shoulder.
And though it was real, it doesn't feel like it could be
Even though it really happened, it feels like it couldn't have been real.
That night when you said to me
The night when she offered me the tickets.
It's sad but true, how much I miss you
It's sad but true how much I miss her now that she's gone.
I miss you Cecily Smith
I miss her, my wife Cecily Smith.
Life is not the things that we do
Life is not just about the activities we engage in.
Itโฒs who we're doing them with
It's about who we do these activities with that makes them meaningful.
Contributed by Eli D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.