Althea
-by Bobby Goldstein (1997)

I cared about Althea more than anybody knew
Hell, I lived with her for damn near six years
And the day that she left, hell I cried for a week
Coulda filled the world's biggest saucer with my tears

She was sittin' on the couch when I walked in the door
I went and found Paul, he said this is Althea
And I hope that you don't mind if she sleeps on the floor
For a couple of days, I swear you won't even hardly see her

I met you on the skids back in 1990
You were skinny, you looked like you hadn't eaten for days
My roommate took you home and he made you dinner
But it was me who fell for you in way too many ways

At first she was just happy to have a roof above her head
She was sweeter than pie and cute as a button, too
And I'll never forget how nice it was the night I found her in my bed
Paul was mad but I told him what he could do

We worked it out tensely at home the next couple months
Both me and Paul tryin' hard not to be jealous
But when springtime came she made it abundantly clear
She preferred the company of somebody else

Things got real bad when the spring turned to summer
You disappeared for days at a time
And I can't forget the time I came home and caught you in the act
Had to throw out a bunch of things that were covered in slime.

Spoken: Like the pencil sharpener, and the pencil that was in it. I worry that if it was electric you might have died

Now Paul that coward left when the little ones came
And I'm sorry to say I wasn't too much help
And she never understood why they were taken away
But at least then I had her to myself

The next few years I had to move quite a bit
I tried to spend more time with her but I just couldn't've
And I know that made her mad, and I guess she had a point
But when she peed all over my stuff she really shouldn't've

That made my trust for her just jump out the window
I locked her out of my room
I was heading crosstown in a moving cab when SHE jumped out the window
In Lincoln Park in the early afternoon.

Now, Althea, I hope that you are happy and well-fed
Not scrounging in some alley for your dinner
And I hope that you are warm at night, sleeping in a bed
'Cause in my book, kitty, you are still a winner
In my my book, kitty, you are still a winner