Those Shoes

Inara carries her bag to the top of the ramp, and hugs Kaylee then River. Both are crying.

"Bye 'Nara," Kaylee says. "Can't believe you're leaving Serenity. Wasn't she good enough for you?"

"No Kaylee. Its not that…its just…" she cuts off as Mal enters on a high catwalk, his face black as thunder.

Simon holds out a hand in a 'proper' handshake. Inara ignores it, and kisses him soundly on both cheeks. He looks embarrassed but flattered. "Goodbye Inara."

Zoë and Wash say their goodbyes quietly. Jayne just nods. He and Inara never quite saw eye to eye.

Mal walks down the stairs and everybody disappears as if by magic. The intro music starts. He looks at Inara.

"Leaving then?"

"Yes. Goodbye Mal. Least now you won't have the inconvenience of my work on your boat."

"Yeah, you can whore all you want in peace."

She shoots him a cold hard look. Mal starts to sing, throwing the words at her like insults.

"Tell us what you're gonna do tonight, mama.
There must be someplace you can go
In the middle of the tall drinks and the drama;
there must be someone you know.

God knows, you're lookin' good enough,
but you're so smooth and the world's so rough.
You might have somethin' to loose.
Oh, no, pretty mama, what you gonna
do in those shoes?"

Mal circles her, and leans over her shoulder to sing in her ear.

"Got those pretty little straps around your ankles
Got those shiny little chains around your heart.
You go to have your independence
but you don't know just where to start.

Desperation in the singles bars
an' all those jerkoffs in their fancy cars.
you can't believe your reviews.

Oh, no, you can't do that,
once you started wearin' those shoes."

Mal faces her again, his eyes are hard and Inara looks angry.

"You're a liu kou shui de biaozi he houzi de erzi."

"Language Companion. You'll never be a lady with a mouth like that."

"They're lookin' at you, leanin' on you
Tell you anything you want to hear
They give you tablets of love
They're waiting for you
got to score you
handy with a shovel and so sincere
Ooh, they got the kid glove

You just want someone to talk to
They just wanna get their hands on you
You get whatever you choose
Oh, no, you can't do that,
Once you started wearin' those shoes."

"Goodbye Captain." Inara raises her chin and gives him a steady look. She starts to sing another song.

Already Gone

"Well, I heard some people talkin' just the other day
And they said you were gonna put me on a shelf
But let me tell you I got some news for you
And you'll soon find out it's true
And then you'll have to eat your lunch all by yourself
'Cause I'm already gone
And I'm feelin' strong
I will sing this vict'ry song, woo, hoo, hoo, woo, hoo, hoo"

Inara gives him a grim smile that only seems to infuriate him more.

"The letter that you wrote me made me stop and wonder why
But I guess you felt like you had to set things right
Just remember this, my boy, when you look up in the sky
You can see the stars and still not see the light (that's right).

And I'm already gone
And I'm feelin' strong
I will sing this vict'ry song, woo, hoo, hoo, woo, hoo, hoo"

Mal opens his mouth to interrupt but she cuts him off with,

"Well I know it wasn't you who held me down
Heaven knows it wasn't you who set me free
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key.

But me, I'm already gone
And I'm feelin' strong
I will sing this vict'ry song
'Cause I'm already gone
Yes, I'm already gone
And I'm feelin' strong
I will sing this vict'ry song
'Cause I'm already gone
Yes, I'm already gone
Already gone
All right, nighty-night."

She picks up her bag and leaves without a backward glance.

"Bah!" Mal growls. "Good riddance."

Wasted Time

River ghosts across an upper catwalk and watches Mal. She starts to sing.

"Well baby, there you stand
With your little head, down in your hand
Oh, my God, you can't believe
Its happening again
your baby's gone, and you're all alone
and it looks like the end.

And you're back out on the street.
And you're tryin' to remember.
How will you start it over?
You don't know if you can.
You don't care much for a stranger's touch,
but you can't hold your man.

You never thought you'd be alone
this far down the line
And I know what's been on your mind
You're afraid it's all been wasted time

The autumn leaves have got you thinking
about the first time that you fell
You didn't love the boy too much, no, no
you just loved the boy too well, farewell
So you live from day to day, and you dream
about tomorrow, oh.

And the hours go by like minutes
and the shadows come to stay
So you take a little something
to make them go away
And I could have done so many things, baby
If I could only stop my mind from wonderin' what
I left behind and from worrying 'bout this wasted time

Ooh, another love has come and gone
Ooh, and the years keep rushing on
I remember what you told me
before you went out on your own:
"Sometimes to keep it together,
you got to leave it alone."

So you can get on with your search, baby,
and I can get on with mine
And maybe someday we will find,
that it wasn't really wasted time
Mm, hm
Oh hoo, ooh, ohh,
Ooh, ooh, mm"

Translation notes

Liu kou shui de biaozi he houzi de erzi: son of a drooling whore and a monkey (not very Inara-ish but such a good line)