The Upside of Good-Bye
Words and Music by M. Nesmith 1972

There was an element of majesty
In the way the lady said that she
Was leaving in the morning
For the coast.
And that goodbye should have brought be pain
But I watched her quickly check the reins
Of emotions which, unloosed,
Would cripple most.

Then the thing that struck me strangely
Was the feeling that I had
When she was gone.
The few that left before
Had left me empty
But she left me with a fullness
To lean on.

So the bitterness that usually
Set in was effectively
Undone by the girl's uncommon grace.
And the thrust of the experience
Was the enrichening* and lively sense
She gave to my life
And to its pace.

I don't know where she's gone.
Her wanderlust surely was strong.
But love would be made much more sure
If all the ladies leaving,
Left like her.

*During his concert at Wadsworth Auditorium in March 1995, Nez halted
the proceedings to note that because "enrichening" isn't a real word,
he now sings "enriching" whenever he performs this song.