Once, in Paris, when you were very young
You realized you had nowhere to go
So you took yourself to Notre Dame.
Attracted by the stained glass windows,
With little to nothing for you to live on,
You found you were no longer alone.
Now all of that may be gone,
But you are still here. What do you know?

I thought tonight I would call you up,
Meet you in front of some payphone.
A quarter could take us nearly anywhere
As long as you don't leave me alone.
I'm just trying to keep it together
As wonders and history burn to the ground.
It's true, nothing may last forever.
I just hope I will always have you around.

Some damage we do cannot be undone
Some hurt, some pain, is irreversible.
Sometimes we are the ones in the wrong
And even our best apologies are futile.
It doesn't matter if it was 'an accident.'
It happened because I wasn't careful.
You can't light a flame and leave it unattended
Next to something so priceless and so beautiful.

Maybe it's because now, I'm a little older
Maybe it's wisdom still left in the cathedral
Maybe it's because, with your head on my shoulder
I felt something light up in me, like a candle.
They built this city long before me, before you,
Yet I think I found hope in something new.
We might never be the same as we used to
But the city is burning, and I still love you.

How does one rebuild history?
How does one accept when it is lost? 
The truth is, we are shockingly temporary,
Outlasted by our stories and ghosts.
Change might happen very slowly
But it is an undeniable, constant force
So that one day, I may look about Paris
And realize I have nowhere to go.