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 gameshow
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