Dear Carl Songtext
von Eric Hansen

I heard her footsteps down the hall
I heard the door slam at the crack of dawn
She laid tracks in my purple Cadillac
She was gone, gone, gone, gone, gone

She left a note on the kitchen table
Explaining her point of view
I put on a strong pot of coffee
I sat down on the porch to read her note

Dear Carl, I am leaving you today
I am never coming back this way
You can have the house and everything in it


I′m finally fed up, boy, I'm finished
I′m sick of feeding the chickens, cooking your dinner
Washing the dishes, sewing your britches
Picking up your underwear, doing your laundry
I'm tired of waiting up nights, crying my eyes out
Looking for your headlights, wondering if you're alright
And now this morning I found a gray hair
So I′m packing my bags, I′m leaving the laundry
You can have your ring back, it's somewhere out in the yard

You say you love me, you never stay home
We don′t go dancing anymore

I'm young and I′m pretty, I'm moving to the city
Gonna find a good man who′ll treat me right
Honey, I'm laying tracks
Signed, your soon-to-be ex-wife, Donna Jean

Well, I dropped my head down into my hands
And I began to cry
Oh God in heaven, what shall I do?
I see now I've been such a fool
My Donna Jean, she′s gone and left me
Lord, I′ve been wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong

Then the sky turned black, the thunder cracked
The clouds split open, I saw a blinding light
There he was, white as a ghost

But in a regular human voice, God spoke


Dear Carl, she is leaving you today
She may never come back this way
You've got some problems, but I′ll tell you how to solve 'em
Listen carefully, son, here′s what you'll do

Get rid of them chickens, buy yourself a cookbook
Help with the dishes, learn how to sew
Pick up your own dirty drawers, get yourself a Maytag
Stop acting like a jerk, come home after work
Tell her that she′s pretty, take her dancing in the city
As soon as you can, get her to a beauty salon
Now get off your butt, get in that truck
Go after that woman and with any luck
You'll find a purple Cadillac stranded by the side of the road

And if you find Donna Jean, get down on your knees
Mention my name, beg her please, please
Promise, promise, promise to change your ways
Take her gently by the hand, let her know you understand
She has to go, there's the open road
But you′ll always, always, always be her man

You will always, always, always, always
Always, always, always, always
Always, always try to understand
You will always, always, always, always
Always, always, always, always
Always, always, always be a man