When Summer Leaves Town
© 2025 J Oscar Bittinger
No beach towels on the shoreline
Empty chairs along the strand
The boardwalk isn’t crowded
All the vendors have shut their stands
WHEN SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
I could probably join the party
That I hear down a door or two
But I just don’t have the moxie
And everyone knows I’m missin’ you
WHEN SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
All my fair-weather friends have gone
I’m just a ghost left drifting ‘round
WHEN SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
That sad song on the jukebox
The one the tourists never play
I’ve got a pocket full of quarters
I’m gonna play that song all day
WHEN SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
All my fair-weather friends have gone
I’m just a ghost left drifting ‘round
WHEN SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
BRIDGE
She leaves in September
And though I know that she’ll return
This town shuts down till Springtime
Like it’s got no fuel to burn
It’s a lonely sort of feeling
Cold coffee, bittersweet
It moves in like a storm front
Blows the sand across your feet
WHEN SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
No sand pails on the shore line
The cottage birds have flown
Bartenders clean the stemware
While one barfly drinks alone
WHEN SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
WHEN SUMMER LEAVES TOWN
EDITS: 2010: August 20, 29-31, September 9, 19,