"Angelita"

Breaking up is hard to do. Too bad that song title is already taken, because I’d love to use it. The only time I’ve knowingly deliberately used an already taken song title was when I wrote “Over There.” My song was an anti-war song, and I enjoyed the irony of using the same title as George M. Cohan’s WWI flag-waver. Angel married Randy, with whom I had played piano duets in junior high and high school. Some of the original songs of which I’m most proud were written very quickly, and “Angelita” is one of them. It came to me in a rush on a nostalgic drive to the parking lot where Angel and I had made out many years earlier. I eventually recorded the song with Plastic Mikey for “Cook Up Something New!” I treated Angel poorly at the end, and I’ve always regretted that.

Angelita

© 1994 Brian Hutzell

Some questions can’t be answered, and even if they could be,

Perhaps it’s best to leave them enclosed in mystery

One I often think of in my reverie:

Whatever has become of my lovely Angelie?

We were young and fearless enough to let love show

But we were unprepared for how quickly it would grow

How could I but fall for the hand she gave to me?

I’d never been touched like I was by Angelie

Is anybody out there?

Anybody know any information--anywhere to go?

Tell me in a daydream; tell me in a nightmare

Is my Angelita waiting for me there?

Can she see the diamonds hidden in the mist?

Is there any room for a silly boy she kissed?

Floating in the background: a haunting melody

And dancing to the rhythm: me and Angelie

Is anybody out there?

Anybody know any information--anywhere to go?

Tell me in a daydream; tell me in a nightmare

Is my Angelita waiting for me there?

The boundaries unnoticed--the ones I overstepped

The promises I gave her--the ones I never kept

How can I atone for a painful memory?

How can I forget the face of Angelie?

Is anybody out there?

Anybody know any information--anywhere to go?

Tell me in a daydream; tell me in a nightmare

Is my Angelita waiting for me there?