After All

After All appears on

Hopelessly In Love: The Lyrics Of Tom Toce
Featuring Carole J. Bufford, Jack Donahue, And Jennifer Sheehan
with a guest appearance by Jane Monheit

After All
Sung by Jack
Music by Kim Oler

Piano: Matthew Martin Ward
Bass: Boots Maleson

 

After All

The world has its attractions
Some are worthy of a glimpse
And I’m grateful for the travelling I’ve done
And I’m grateful for the people
Nice to meet you–that I’ve met
And for all of the beguines that I’ve begun
But the older–sorry–more mature
I grow the less I find
That it matters one iota in the end
And what matters, really matters
Is the life I share with you
My partner, my lover, my friend
After all
After all the nameless faces
After all
After all the fancy places
I recall
That the face I love the best
And the touch I crave the most
Belong to you
Astounding
True
When I fall
I’m the kind who falls forever
It takes gall
To start speaking of forever
After all
But the hand I’ve always held
Is the hand I need to hold
And our love
However old
Is ever new
You’re the one who sees me
As I used to be
And as I yearned to be
And as I am today
I am not the person
That I used to be
Or that I yearned to be
Still I’m yearning
After all
After all the years you’ve mattered
After all
After all the fears you’ve shattered
Large and small
There is one surviving fear
It’s the fear that no one’s there
And no one’s gonna answer when I call
Anytime, I may call
And you answer
After all