Note: You definitely don't know this song. I wrote it myself. If you wish to use any of my songs, they're on my Monkees website on the bottom of the page. All I ask is that you e-mail me and give me credit for writing it. I would be honored in someone used my songs. Also, I'm willing to write songs if you can't find one on your topic. I tried to follow it as well as I could.

Oh, and this is dedicated to an old friend of mine. I wrote this after he moved away a few years ago. I haven't heard from him since, but I still wish him a good life.

A week ago, I never would have imagined this. My best friend was standing directly in front of me, telling me that he was moving...to New York. The small town in Texas had been his home for so long, as well as my own. We had been best friends since we met in the first grade.

"Why," I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. As I looked up to meet his eyes, I noticed that they were gazing at the ground, as if ashamed the answer the simple question.

"My dad," he began, "He got a job up there...as a journalist." I had known for a long time that his father had been trying for months to find a good newspaper job. I never imagined that it would actually happen. Now that it was true, I was I would simply wake up, as if in a bad dream.

When the image before me didn't dissolve into nothingness, I knew that it was real. Immediately, I felt warm tears flowing down my face, mixing with the sprinkling rain all around me. I didn't dare look up at this point. I didn't want to see the expression on his face. An awkward silence came between us.

"So..." he said slowly, "I guess this is...goodbye." I looked up enough to see the slight smile he was sending my way. I didn't acknowledge it. It was a dream, just a dream. The chanting however didn't work.

"I guess," I told him, almost silently. I scoffed my shoe onto the sidewalk, faintly hearing the scratch of concrete against rubber. A gentle touch on my shoulder caused me to raise my eyes, only to have them quickly look down again.

I felt his tight embrace before he said goodbye one last time. Then he walked to the moving truck and climbed inside. I waited until the roaring of the engine died away before removing my gaze from the damp sidewalk.

I never had been able to tell him how I felt. All those years that we'd been best friends, I've felt something else for him as well. I remember being caught daydreaming about him one time. I was only in third grade at the time. Even then, I knew how I felt.

***
The next day at school everything seemed so different. The spot you usually took beside me at the lunch table was now empty, even though I could imagine your familiar figure sitting there and laughing. I could never be mad at you for you long, especially since this whole thing wasn't your fault. And even though I knew that I would never have the opportunity to tell you my feelings, I wished you a happy life, away from me. There was still a chance that we would see each other again.

You were the first person to talk to me when I moved to town. I was really shy in first grade. A girl was jealous of me because you used to pay attention to her before I moved in the area. And when we went to McDonald's with your mom and we switched toys with each other.

I remember how you always tried to get me to smile. You'd turn to me with a smile of your own and say four words, 'I see that smile'. No matter what, it never failed to make me smile, only make me laugh more. You loved to make me smile. It was almost as if it made your day to see happiness shining on my face.

Then, there's the time you and another guy argued over me. It was a stupid argument. I was a third grader. Both you and another guy liked me. You were arguing over who would stand in front of me or behind me in the lunch line. I almost lost you as a friend that day when I tried to interfere. It wasn't until I begged and pleaded that you agreed to still be my friend.

Those times were over now. In my heart however, it was almost as if they had happened yesterday. They were still fresh in my mind. I could remember every single detail from those days.

When you uttered the words, "I'm moving." I wanted to do anything to make the nightmare go away. My heart still believes in us though, I can feel it. Maybe I'll see you again. Wouldn't that be amazing? To meet in college or at a job in a few years. Yes, I know that it seemed impossible, but I refused to give in. I wasn't normally an optimist, but it could happen. Still, I also know that you're not coming back, not back here at least.

The pounding of the van door was still echoing throughout my mind, just begging to become like a distant memory. It seemed like you were just next to me, telling your jokes like always and making everybody laugh. Now, I can't even imagine your shadow falling into place behind mine.

I had never imagined what life would be like if you weren't around. It had never occurred to me that something could break us apart. We had so much ahead of us. I could have seen us dating sometime, and whether or not it worked out, we'd still be friends.

It's only been a day since I last saw your face, but it feels like a thousand years. My mind thinks that you'll soon come walking through that door, the usual smile lighting up your entire face.

I should have taken the chance and told you the truth. That I wanted to be more than just friends. You always kept me laughing when I was upset. Even in first grade, we'd play together tag together during recess, not caring if it was just the two of us, and the game kept going in circles.
***

It's been years since you moved now. I still think of you though. I still pray for you and wish that you would have a good life. I pray that you'll find a girlfriend who's worthy enough to have you as a boyfriend. That no matter what tragedy may befall you, you'd always have a cheerful spirit.

I like to think of you, even though it still makes me cry. It's been so long now, but I still remember you. I guess this is the point where I know that I'll never see you again. So, finally, I'll say the one word I've dreaded all of my life: Goodbye.

(Chorus)
This is our final goodbye
Don't worry if I start to cry
We can both no longer deny
That this is our last goodbye

You never even saw my face

I feel so out of place

Now that you're gone
I couldn't blame you for long

It was never your fault that it happened
You couldn't have known at the time
Now everything's changed since then
My only wish is for you to be fine

Things happen for no reason
We can't go back in time
But there's still hope in my heart
That we'll meet again one last time

When I first heard the news that day
I didn't want to believe it was true
But now I have to face the fact
That you're never coming back

(Chorus)

I don't want to relive the past
But time has caught up to me at last
Nothing more can be done but to say
Maybe I'll see you again someday

I don't know how long it's been
It seems you were just here
But no one is now near me
It's like you disappeared

Who could have imagined the pain
We still had so much to gain
Oh, how I wish I could believe
And just wake up from this bad dream

It's hard to believe that it's true
It's been too long since I last saw you
Tell me you'll come back soon
Or at least it'll soon be through

(Chorus)
Everything that was left unexplained
I've kept hidden in my mind
And I've tried everything to contain
The feelings I have inside

I should have taken the chance
To tell you my feelings at that last glance
Now that I know what time has done
I see what I've become

I should have taken the risk
There's no time to waste
If you can't see it through
There's one more dream that won't come true

Not a day goes by

That I don't think of you
So many dreams were lost

But it's nice to think of you

Nothing could have prepared me
It really caught me by surprise

I just wasn't ready for it

So I'll finally say 'Goodbye'

(Chorus)

Before this song is over

Before a dream is through

I only hope you know
That I'll always think of you

I wish I had taken a chance to tell him
What my mind was going through
Hope everything is better now
Than the world that we once knew

(Chorus)

(slower and softer)
(Chorus)