Jewel of Bucharest

After half your life spent in the breadlines
Watching the world turn
In a dress of red polyester
So many important things to learn
Like never to be in a hurry
Time is what you make it
And if you get a chance to travel
You’d be a fool not to take it
And that’s how I met you
Like a bird out of her nest
Five thousand miles from your homeland
The jewel of Bucharest

Yes, it’s such a long way
From your father’s factory
To the lonely strip malls
And a foreign university
And that’s how I found you
So far across the sea
Making sense out of the madness
With your wistful poetry
And it’s such a pleasure
To have your head upon my chest
My sweet Latin lover
The jewel of Bucharest

Outside in New Haven
The wind it blows so cold
Inside the smell of cabbage
Is like a story seldom told
For the comfort of this bed
And the blanket that you made
No treasure trove of platinum
Would be rich enough to trade
Ah, there might be many ways
To have my soul caressed
But please grant me one more evening
With the jewel of Bucharest

“The Jewel of Bucharest” appeared on my 2001 CD, Living In These Times.

A song for a wonderful woman from Romania named Oana who I have had the pleasure of knowing for many years.