He takes another drink of what
Who knows no time to think
He'll wake up here tomorrow
Always alone

The letter next to him begins
'I miss you, Evelyn'
Then nothing more is written

This is no TV show
This is real and he knows
And the shadows from the window
Are casting shapes just like a puppet show

Once in the night
Once in the night
Once in the night
Once in the night

Decisions he has made
The failures of a new decade
Inform his every movement
He has visions of atonement

The television says
'Beware, we're in our final days'
And a Blonde Canary Game Show
Fills up the screen

Oh Lord, she must be sixteen
And the shadows from the window
Are casting shapes just like a puppet show

Once in the night
Once in the night
Once in the night
Once in the night

And believing he could
He painfully stood
Holding the frame
And launched his aging body
Into the rain

She couldn't take the facts
She just could not keep up the act
She goes about her business
She is never alone

And this is no TV show
And the shadows from the window
Still casting shapes just like a puppet show

Once in the night
Once in the night
Once in the night
Once in the night

Once in the night
Once in the night
Once in the night
Once in the night