She had the window and I had the aisle She looked 25, but she was shaking like a child when we took off I looked over and clutched in her hand There was a cactus in a coffee can She was holding that thing like it was all that she had She smiled at me, but I could tell she was sad Somewhere over Denver, I asked her her name She said "Elena," and told me she came from Santa Fe She ordered a drink and a wall came down She started talking and pain poured out She told me a story I'll never forget She had me in tears when she looked at me and said "My mama's first love was crack She made her living lying on her back And she gave me away on the day that I was born" She said, "The last ten years I spent tracking her down It don't seem fair that when I finally found her she was almost gone We had two weeks together to laugh and to cry Two weeks to say hello and goodbye She gave me this cactus, said, 'It's kinda like me It'll hurt you to hold it, but it blooms every spring'"
She said, "I'm on my way back to New Mexico Was gonna scatter these ashes where the desert winds blow But I came up with a better plan I'm gonna keep 'em in the bottom of this coffee can" "My mama was a tortured soul I still love her even though Oh, she gave me away on the day I was born" The plane touched down and we both got off I took her hand and said, "I'm sorry for your loss" She said, "Thanks for listening, and for being here I've been wantin' to talk about for so many years" Now I'll probably never see Elena again We met as strangers and parted as friends As we waved goodbye, I was sure of one thing There'll be a flower on that cactus come next spring
[00:36.13] She had the window and I had the aisle [00:40.02] She looked 25, but she was shaking like a child [00:43.94]when we took off [00:49.30] I looked over and clutched in her hand [00:53.10] There was a cactus in a coffee can [00:57.53] She was holding that thing like it was all that she had [01:02.16] She smiled at me, but I could tell she was sad [01:15.26] Somewhere over Denver, I asked her her name [01:19.97]She said "Elena," and told me she came from Santa Fe [01:28.78] She ordered a drink and a wall came down [01:32.91] She started talking and pain poured out [01:37.54] She told me a story I'll never forget [01:41.67] She had me in tears when she looked at me and said [01:47.24] "My mama's first love was crack [01:50.72] She made her living lying on her back [01:55.42] And she gave me away on the day that I was born" [02:05.65] She said, "The last ten years I spent tracking her down [02:10.32] It don't seem fair that when I finally found her [02:14.36]she was almost gone [02:19.07] We had two weeks together to laugh and to cry [02:23.56] Two weeks to say hello and goodbye [02:28.20] She gave me this cactus, said, 'It's kinda like me [02:32.10] It'll hurt you to hold it, but it blooms every spring'" [02:37.96] [02:45.38] She said, "I'm on my way back to New Mexico [02:49.42] Was gonna scatter these ashes where the desert winds blow [02:55.05] But I came up with a better plan [02:58.77] I'm gonna keep 'em in the bottom of this coffee can" [03:04.36] "My mama was a tortured soul [03:08.23] I still love her even though [03:12.70] Oh, she gave me away on the day I was born" [03:23.10] The plane touched down and we both got off [03:27.62] I took her hand and said, "I'm sorry for your loss" [03:32.56] She said, "Thanks for listening, and for being here [03:36.13] I've been wantin' to talk about for so many years" [03:41.07] Now I'll probably never see Elena again [03:45.38] We met as strangers and parted as friends [03:49.72] As we waved goodbye, I was sure of one thing [03:53.80] There'll be a flower on that cactus come next spring
