4:44 Taxi & Taxi Sequel (By Harry Chapin) Music/Text Lyrics

Audio Taxi 1 then Lyrics to 1, then Lyrics to Sequel, then Sequel Audio

Taxi 1

It was raining hard in 'Frisco
I needed one more fare to make my night
A lady up ahead waved to flag me down
She got in at the lights

"Oh, where you going to, my lady blue?"
It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain
She just looked out the window, she said
"Sixteen Park side Lane"

Something about her was familiar
I could swear I'd seen her face before
But she said, "I'm sure you're mistaken"
Then she didn't say anything more

It took a while but she looked in the mirror
Then she glanced at the license for my name
A smile seemed to come to her slowly
It was a sad smile, just the same

And she said, "How are you, Harry?"
I said, "How are you, Sue?
Through the too many miles and the too little smiles
I still remember you"

It was somewhere in a fairy tale
I used to take her home in my car
We learned about love in the back of a Dodge
The lesson hadn't gone too far

You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly
She took off to find the footlights
I took off to find the sky

Oh, I've got something inside me
To drive a princess blind
There's a wild man, wizard
He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind

Oh, I've got something inside me
But it's not what my life's about
'Cause I've been letting my outside tide me
Over till my time runs out

Baby's so high that she's skying
Yes she's flying, afraid to fall
I'll tell you why baby's crying
She's dying, aren't we all?

There was not much more for us to talk about
Whatever we had once was gone
So I turned my cab into the driveway
Past the gates and the fine trimmed lawns

And she said, "We must get together"
But I knew it'd never be arranged
Then she handed me twenty dollars for a two-fifty fare
She said, "Harry, keep the change"

Well another man might have been angry
And another man might have been hurt
But another man never would have let her go
I stashed the bill

And she walked away in silence
It's strange how you never know
But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for
Such a long, long time ago

You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly
She took off to find the footlights
And I took off for the sky

Here, she's acting happy
And here, she's acting happy
Inside her handsome home
And me, I'm flying in my taxi
Taking tips, getting stoned

I go flying so high when I'm stoned

Taxi Sequel (scroll down to end to play audio)

Hey, she's actin' happy, inside her handsome home
And me, I'm flyin' in my taxi, takin' tips

I got into town a little early
Had eight hours to kill before the show
First thought about heading up north of the bay
Then knew where I had to go

I thought about taking a Limousine
Or at least a fancy car
I ended up taking a taxi
'Cause that's how I got this far

It was ten years goin' in the front seat
Drivin' stoned, feelin' no pain
Now, here I am straight and sittin' in the back
Hitting 16 Park Side lane

The driveway was the same, as I remembered
And a butler came and answered the door
He just shook his head, when I asked for her
And said, "She doesn't live here anymore"

But he offered to give me the address
They were forwarding her letters to
I just took it and returned to the cabbie
And said, "I got one more fare for you"

And so we rolled back into the city
Upto a five storey old Brownstone
Rang the bell, that had her name on the mailbox
The buzzer said somebody's home

And the look on her face as she opened door
Was like an old joke told by a friend
It'd taken ten more years, but she'd found her smile
And I watched the corners start to bend

And she said, "How are you Harry?
Haven't we played this scene before"
I said, "It's so good to see you now, Sue
Had to play it out just once more
Play it out just once more"

She said, "I've heard you flying high on my radio"
I answered, "It's not all it seems"
That's when she laughed and she said
"It's better sometimes, when we don't get to touch our dreams"

That's when, I asked her where was that actress
She said, "That was somebody else"
When I asked her, why she looked so happy now
She said, "I finally like myself, at last I like myself"

So we talked all through that afternoon
Talking about, where we'd been
We talked of the tiny difference
Between ending and starting to begin
We talked because, talking tells you things
Like, what you really are thinking about
But sometimes, you can't find what you're feeling
Till all the words run out

So I asked her to come to the concert
She said, "No, I, I work at night"
I said, "We've gotten too damn good at leaving, Sue"
She said, "Harry, you're right"

Don't ask me, if I made love to her
Or which one of us started to cry
Don't ask me why she wouldn't take the money that I left
If I answered at, all I'd lie

So I thought about her, as I sang that night
And how the circle keeps rolling around
And if I act, as I'm facing the footlights
How she's flying with both feet on the ground

Yes, I guess it's a sequel to our story
From my journey between Heaven and Hell
With half the time thinking of what might have been
And half thinkin' just as well

I guess only time will tell