Paroles de Rue Something

Three AM: three dozen or so friends we'd met hours ago Filled a bar to capacity You'd learned school French for a year Ordered 36 beers We all cheered your audacity Asleep on the cubicle floor We all tried the door And assumed it was some fumbling junkie Well, you had gone missing before for an hour or more So it just hadn't sunk in If I knew then what I knew ten hours later I would have waited Bleary-eyed, freezing and shocked as they unscrewed the lock You slurred "merci" then "mercy" Kicked through the picturesque rain to the edge of the Seine No-one knew where you were See, if I knew then what I knew ten hours later I would have waited Broken ribs hurt when you walk Red chalk on wet café blackboards Taxis slow and then go Their red eyes looking back at you stumbling You missed the bus, we lost touch You don't talk to me much When you do it's with kindness The last time we met there were tears You said "Mate, it's been years Can we leave this behind us?" But I knew then what I know ten years later I should have waited Oh, the details don't matter It was such-and-such plaza Some avenue, maybe Rue something? Rue something