soho square

Your name froze on the winter air
An empty bench in Soho Square
Forgotten now I turn away
Just save me for a rainy day
But don't be sorry, I don't want to hear it baby

My feet froze in the winter chill
I knew I'd probably get ill
But I was praying we could fill an empty bench and still
You're so sorry but I don't want your pity baby

It's all yours now please don't tease
The pigeons shiver in the naked trees
And I'll do anything but please don't hurt me
Just kiss me quick 'cos it's my birthday
And I feel so small I don't know why but no I'm not too old to cry
An empty bench in Soho Square.

If you'd have come you'd have found me there
But you never did 'cos you don't care and I'm so sorry baby
I don't mind loneliness too much but when I met you I was touched
And that was good enough for me but do we always have to be sorry
Why can't we just be happy baby?

One day you'll be waiting there, no empty bench in Soho Square
And we'll dance around like we don't care
And I'll be much too old to cry
And you'll kiss me quick in case I die before my birthday

One day you'll be waiting there, no empty bench in Soho Square
No I don't know the reason why I'll love you till the day I die
But one day you'll be waiting there
Come summertime in Soho Square
And I'll be painting stars up in the sky
Before I get too old to cry before my birthday
I hope I see those pigeons fly before my birthday
In Soho Square on my birthday

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Soho Square, written by Kirsty MacColl & Mark Nevin, recorded by Kirsty MacColl in 1994.

Kirsty's bench in Soho Square, at its unveiling in 2010

 I'm a bit of a Kirsty MacColl fan, and have had vague thoughts of visiting Soho Square in London, just because of this song. Kirsty was hit and killed by a power boat while scuba diving with her sons off the coast of Mexico in December 2000. 2010 is ten years since her death, and on Kirsty's birthday - 10 October - there'll be a party in Soho Square. It just happens that we will arrive in London the week before, so I think I'll need to mark this date into our schedule.