This Shirt

This shirt is old and faded
All the color's washed away
I've had it now for more damn years
Than I can count anywayI wear it beneath my jacket
With the collar turned up high
So old I should replace it
But I'm not about to tryThis shirt's got silver buttons
And a place upon the sleeve
Where I used to set my heart up
Right there where anyone could seeThis shirt is the one I wore to
Every boring high school dance
Where the boys ignored the girls
And we all pretended to like the bandThis shirt was a pillow for my head
On a train through Italy
This shirt was a blanket beneath the love
We made in ArgelesThis shirt was lost for three whole days
In a town near Buffalo
'Till I found the locker key
In a downtown Trailways bus depotThis shirt is the one I lent you
And when you gave it back
It had a rip inside the sleeve
Where you rolled your cigarettesIt was the place I put my heart
Now look at where you put a tear
I forgave your thoughtlessness
But not the boy who put it thereThis shirt was the place your cat
Decided to give birth to five
And we stayed up all night watching
And we wept when the last one diedThis shirt is just an old faded piece
Of cotton, shining like the memories
Inside those silver buttons
This shirt is a grand old relicWith a grand old history
I wear it now for Sunday chores
Cleaning house and raking leaves
I wear it beneath my jacketWith the collar turned up high
So old I should replace it
But I'm not about to try