This is an newer recording than the one that featured on the original CD release. I like this one because it allowed me to use the poem I like to introduce the song with.

Lyrics

When It Gets This Late In The Evening

When it gets this late in the evening
And you wonder how it got this dark
It’s cracked blue and your glass is empty
Just a whisper of bourbon and ash
The room is quiet as Sunday
And cold as a father’s curse
When it gets this late in the evening
And there’s a rumour it might get worse

When it gets this late in the evening
And the drinks are getting low
Your friends, well they’re all leaving
They got somewhere else to go
You’ve spent the whole night standing
At the dark end of the street
But when it gets this late in the evening
There’s no one left to meet

You’ve sang your last blue song
Your voice gave up its ghost
So you whisper like a deathbed confession
And say goodnight to the host
You just need something to believe in
Someone to be a friend
‘Cause when it gets this late in the evening
Just want to make it to the end

When it gets this late in the evening
You wonder how it got this wrong
Was it the crack in the glass
The bourbon or the ash
Or the minor chords in the song
Or the minor chords in the song

There are lovers in the darkness
And they’d let you take it all
For just a moment without sadness
They’re crying down the hall
There’s a Bible you’ve been reading
And there’s a bottle by the bed
When it gets this late in the evening
You’re blowing smoke rings for the dead

© When It Gets This Late In The Evening words & music by Thomas Yule Fairnie 26th March 2003