You told me at the diner
You were leaving town
I chewed my food and looked away
I had a job I might've left
But I never heard you ask me to come along

So I'm still changing sheets
And trying to keep things neat
Here at the old hotel in Fort Nelson
The road goes both ways
For days and days
But where it might end up- there's no telling

Grandpa came with the Al-Can
Back in '42
And he stayed on for a place in the shale
He had Grandma, five acres, and a steady job
It seemed like there was no way they could fail

But after 60 years
There's no one here
Left from my family but me
Your mother took me in
Said that we were twins
And that was just fine with me

We got through secondary-
You hitchhiked for a while
I spent a couple winters chasing crab
But out in a storm we lost two men
And I swore that if we landed, I'd go home

And I made good my word
Like a bird
I flew straight home to you
We spent Christmas in Liard
I bought a car
And we both found work in the hotel

You quickly won the heart
Of the whole damn town
Shaking your breasts up on stage
From White Horse to Vancouver
And Saksatoon
They called you the Yukon Betty Page

But we were from B.C.
You and me
For seven years it seemed the world was ours
But seven years go fast
And breasts don't last
Shaking every night at the bar

Sometimes I'll get a postcard
But you never write a thing
'Cept my name and our old address
The first one came in August
Postmarked Kluane Lake
It arrived here the first day it snowed

And I do what I must
When the termination dust
Turns the summer instantly to fall
But fall, she don't last long-
Just a song
Is all you get before she goes away

You don't believe it in Fort Nelson
When the springtime finally comes
But last night I woke to the sound of rain
And I still wish you'd come back
To the old hotel
Since you left the dancing ain't the same

And me I'm changing sheets
And trying to keep things neat
Here at the old hotel in Fort Nelson
The road goes both ways
For days and days
But where it might end up, there's no telling