Broken Man's Lament

I was once a broken man I was once a broken fool Lost my wife and children To one basic broken rule Now I live my life in silence Though I'm not quite in a shell I drink and listen to that song 'A Whiter Shade of Pale', oh A Whiter Shade of Pale I was a good shade tree mechanic So I sent myself to school They smoothed out my rough edges In my hands they put new tools The instructor, once he told me I could work on any line I could tune to make a diesel sing Just like Patsy Cline, oh Just like Patsy Cline Well, I met my wife to be Through my mother's best friend's son She'd been a barroom singer She was as good as anyone But I asked her to stop singing And the girl, she did not flinch Next day she went and bought that man A brand new crescent wrench, oh A brand new crescent wrench We had three fine children As eight years went on by And earned a supervising line My knuckles stayed bone dry But after supper I kept hearing her By the kitchen radio Singing sweet but desperate harmony A little bit too low, oh A little bit too low She left three months later I'd just come home for lunch Note said "Easy come, hard go I still love you so much" She said, "I don't know if I'll be there Or if you'll want me when I come But if and when that happens, dear You'd better let my sweet dream run", oh Let my sweet dream run Oh, oh Oh, oh Oh, oh I was a good shade tree mechanic So I sent myself to school They smoothed out my rough edges In my hand they put new tools The instructor once he told me I could work on any line But now my diesels ain't the only thing That sing like Patsy Cline, oh Sing like Patsy Cline I was once a broken man I was once a broken fool Lost my wife and children To one basic broken rule Now I live my life in silence Though I'm not quite in a shell I drink and listen to that song 'A Whiter Shade of Pale', oh A Whiter Shade of Pale, oh A Whiter Shade of Pale, oh A Whiter Shade of Pale