I met her down in Tampa Bay   Spring break '88   She came in to hear my band play   And man we were on that night      Twin guitars and twenty minute jams   "Tush", "Cocaine", "Sweet Home Alabam"   I knew I had her in the palm of my hand   When I stepped in the spotlight      Hot an' heavy in that little alley   On a fifteen minute break   We shared a cigarette, long kiss   Then she stood there by the stage      All night by the stage   What can I say?   She loved me      But after five long years of trying to be a star   I sold my acts and I quit them bars   Got a real job fixing trucks and cars   Had a couple new mouths to feed      Eventually that monthly wage   And the finer points of the suburban age   All became bars on a cage   And man it was killing me      I started cussin' and getting mad at nothin'   And blaming her for ruining my life   Started sinking, cheating and a drinking   But she stood there by my side      Right there by my side   With tears in her eyes      And she loved me   She loved me   Heaven knows the reasons why   I'll never know the reasons why   She loved me      She finally left three years ago   Married a man out in New Mexico   Calls to say the boys are really growing   God, I miss them kids      As for me, I'm twelve steps down the line   I found a church that I like just fine   Even got a gig playing these songs of mine   They all just reminisce      Hot an' heavy in that little alley   On a fifteen minute break   We shared a cigarette, long kiss   Then she stood there by the stage      All night by the stage   Man, those were the days   When she loved me      Yeah, she loved me   Heaven knows the reasons why   I'll never know the reasons why   She loved me      Yeah, she loved me   Heaven knows the reasons why   I'll never know the reasons why   She loved me