# Songs about encounters with ex-lovers, or wistful songs about old flames **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2007, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689 "2007-08-15T14:03:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/61 "2007-08-16T08:25:55Z")
Previous thread on this subject: > **[Looking for Songs about chance encounters with old lovers](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302095)** > > In this thread Harry Chapin’s song Taxi was mentioned and Dan Fogelberg’s Same Old Lang Syne were mentioned. What are others with the same story. Mary Hopkin’s Those Were the Days sorta fits. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/62 "2007-08-16T09:08:49Z")
[Beeswing](http://www.richardthompson-music.com/song_o_matic.asp?id=207) by Richard Thompson: Oh she was a rare thing, fine as a bee’s wing And I miss her more than ever words could say If I could just taste all of her wildness now If I could hold her in my arms today Well I wouldn’t want her any other way ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/63 "2007-08-16T14:04:38Z")
[I’m Still in Love With You](http://www.steveearle.net/lyrics/ly-mountain.php#ImStillInLoveWithYou) by Steve Earle. On _The Mountain_–the album he recorded with the (hardcore Bluegrass) Del McCoury Band. Iris Dement sang harmony for this little piece of heartbreak. > [@](#): > > There you are > Right across the room from me > Just the way I knew you’d be > Lookin’ lonesome wild and blue > I’m alright so far > Just as long as you don’t speak > That’s what makes my knees go weak > ‘Cause I’m still in love with you Richard & Linda Thompson recorded [For Shame of Doing Wrong](http://www.richardthompson-music.com/song_o_matic.asp?id=68) on the wonderful _Pour Down Like Silver_. > [@](#): > > I’m sorry for the things I’ve said, the things I’ve done > I’m sorry for the restless thief I’ve been > Please don’t make me pay for my deceiving heart > Just turn up your lamp and let me in > > I wish I was a fool for you again… The already mentioned \*She Thinks I Still Care \* by George Jones is the classic in this category. And _First Boy I Loved_ by Judy Collins was originally \*First Girl I Loved \* by The Incredible String Band. (The fact that it was recorded so many years ago–either version–just ups the melancholy nostalgia quotient.) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/64 "2007-08-16T14:24:07Z")
A marvelous, rather heartbreaking song… ‘‘I’d Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)’’ by Doug Stone \*always thought that someday, We might get back together. I just thought you needed time to spread your wings and fly. But when I saw the lovin’ way, You held onto each other, It was all that I could do, not to break right down and cry. I’d be better off in a pine box, On a slow train back to Georgia, Or in the grey walls of a prison doing time. I think I’d rather die, And go to hell and face the devil, Than to lie here with you and him together on my mind.\* And, to insert a little modern flair into this long list of oldies, Alanis Morisette’s ‘‘Flinch’’ \*What are you my god? you touch me like you are my god What are you my twin? you affect me like you are my twin How long can a girl be tortured by you? How long before my dignity is reclaimed? And how long can a girl be haunted by you? Soon Ill grow up and I wont even flinch at your name Soon Ill grow up and I wont even flinch at your name\* ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/65 "2007-08-16T14:30:59Z")
Tom Paxton’s hauntingly beautiful [About The Children](http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/tom_paxton_lyrics_36838/other_lyrics_67679/about_the_children_lyrics_660165.html) You’re looking really lovely And that dress is really you. The necklace I remember But the bracelet must be new. But that’s another day I clear my throat and say About the children. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/66 "2007-08-16T14:42:38Z")
**Nanci Griffith** does a really pretty song entitled [“Once In a Very Blue Moon”](http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/o/onceinaverybluemoon.shtml) about receiving a letter from an old lover: \*I found your letter in my mailbox today You were just checkin’ if I was okay And if I miss you, well, you know what they say … just once … in a very blue moon… …There’s a blue moon shinin’ when I am reminded of all we’ve been through Such a blue moon … shinin’ Does it ever shine down on you?\* Can’t find video of Nanci performing the song, but [here’s audio of someone doing a nice job with it.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYqOPCHM2Wk) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/67 "2007-08-16T14:56:10Z")
> [@](#): > > by \*\*OtakuLoki \*\* > Are sick “old flame” songs allowed in this thread? > > I’m afraid the first song I thought of, when I read the thread title, was Spike Jones’ version of “My Old Flame.” Spike Jones’ version was a parody of someone else’s song. In the version I have, Jones’ band plays the whole song twice: first the straight version, then the Peter Lorre version. The straight version certainly fits the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/68 "2007-08-16T14:58:39Z")
Oh yeah, and then there’s the **Hank Williams** classic **“I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You)”** [Here’s Hank performing it in a nice duet with Anita Carter (June Carter Cash’s sister)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uU6Txb1LDk) ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/69 "2007-08-16T15:30:10Z")
_Martha_ by **Tom Waits** : \*"I am so much older now you’re much older, too how’s your husband, how’s your kids? You know that I got married too. Lucky that we found someone to make us feel secure 'Cause we were all so young and foolish now we are mature And those were days of roses poetry and prose and Martha all I had was you and all you had was me There was no tomorrow we packed away our sorrows and we saved them for a rainy day."\* _Questioningly_ by **The Ramones** : \*"Questioningly her eyes looked at me and then she spoke, ‘Aren’t you someone I used to know, and weren’t we lovers a long time ago?’… When I’m going home whiskey bottle, movie on TV memories make me cry and I’m alone, just me just me questioningly."\* ---
**Author:** ![SpectBrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@SpectBrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpectBrain)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/70 "2007-08-17T00:35:20Z")
Richard Thompson’s “Tear Stained Letter” It was three in the morning when she took me apart She wrecked the furniture, she wrecked my heart She danced on my head like Arthur Murray The scars ain’t never going to mend in a hurry Just when I thought I could learn to forget her Right through the door come a tear-stained letter Oh, oh, oh love love Cry, cry if it makes you feel better Set it all down in a tear-stained letter Oh, oh, oh love love love Cry, cry if it makes you feel better Set it all down in a tear-stained letter ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/71 "2007-08-17T00:48:54Z")
Pete Townsend, _Slit Skirts_ The incense burned away and the stench began to rise. Lovers, now estranged, avoided catching each others’ eyes. Girls who lost their children cursed the men who fit the coil And men not fit for marriage took their refuge in the oil No one respects the flame quite like the fool who’s badly burned From all this you’d imagine that there must be something learned Slit skirts, Jeanie never wears those slit skirts I don’t ever wear no ripped shirts Can’t pretend that growing older never hurts. And I know that when she thinks of me, she thinks of me as “him”, But, unlike me, she don’t work off her frustration in the gym. Recriminations fester and the past can never change A woman’s expectations run from both ends of the range Once she woke with untamed lover’s face between her legs; Now he’s cooled and stifled and it’s she who has to beg. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/72 "2007-08-17T00:53:28Z")
An oldie from the early 60s: “Hello Stranger” by Barbara Lewis (and remade by a few others, notably Yvonne Elliman in the 70s) \*Hello stranger It seems so good to see you back again how long has it been? seems like a mighty long time \* \ _If you’re not gonna stay Please don’t tease me like you did before because I still love you so although it seems like a mightly long time_ ---
**Author:** ![DirkGntly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DirkGntly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirkGntly)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/73 "2007-08-17T01:26:56Z")
Lee Ann Womack: _I May Hate Myself in the Morning (But I’m Gonna Love You Tonight)_ ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/74 "2007-08-17T02:30:41Z")
**"CBGB’s"** by **Syd Straw** : _Hey Remember me? We met ten years ago at CBGB’s on New Year’s Eve … Hey remember when you took me to the movies to see Soylent Green? I can’t believe it was such a long time ago So much has happened I hear you had twins … I was married for a while It ended in tragedy Oh well Enough about me_ ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/75 "2007-08-19T06:36:47Z")
Right now my optimist prime, earworm, wistful Love song is [**Peter Björn and John’s** - Young Folks](http://www.myspace.com/peterbjornandjohn), ridin’ to the top of the pops on a bullet. It’s about falling in Love, not strictly an Old Flame. Nice, Happy, song. If you want old flame from them, try _Far Away, By My Side_. Young Folks is genius! Isn’t the whistled melody just a couple of notes and some flats away from that Americanized, chopsocky, stereotypical ditty? Na Na na NUHN NUHN NUHN NUHN na? ---
**Author:** ![TastesLikeBurning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@TastesLikeBurning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TastesLikeBurning)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/76 "2007-08-19T06:48:59Z")
[QUOTE=bellybean] _My Ex-Lover Is Dead_ by Stars: God, that was strange to see you again Introduced by a friend of a friend Smiled and said ‘yes I think we’ve met before’ In that instant it started to pour, Captured a taxi despite all the rain We drove in silence across Pont Champlain And all of the time you thought I was sad I was trying to remember your name… It is one of my favourite songs ever. [/QUOTE] Exactly what I came in here to post! Great to see somebody on here that also thinks Stars are excellent. Anytime you want to swap music to listen to tips, drop me an email. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2007, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689/77 "2007-08-19T11:31:17Z")
“Not Alone Anymore” by Roy Orbison (as part of the Traveling Wilburys). And I second “Your Wildest Dreams” by the Moody Blues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-encounters-with-ex-lovers-or-wistful-songs-about-old-flames/415689.md?page=3)