I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face

Expressing frustration or disbelief.

The singer is accustomed to the presence of a woman's face.

The woman positively influences the singer's day.

The singer is used to a particular tune associated with the woman.

The woman whistles a tune both at night and noon.

The woman's expressions and moods are familiar and natural to the singer.

Her ups, her downs

Are second nature to me now,

The woman has become an integral part of the singer's life, like breathing.

Reflecting on independence before meeting the woman, questioning the possibility of returning to that state.

And content before we met.

Surely I could always be that way again - and yet,

The singer is accustomed to the woman's appearance, voice, and overall presence.

Accustomed to her voice,

Accustomed to her face.

Disapproval of the idea of the woman marrying someone else, predicting regret.

What an infantile idea.

What a heartless,

Wicked, brainless thing to do.

But she'll regret it. It's

Doomed before they even take the vow.

Imagining a bleak future for the woman if she marries another man.

In a wretched little flat above a store.

I can see her now, not a penny in the till,

And a bill collector beating at the door.

She'll try to teach the things I taught her,

And end up selling flowers instead.

Begging for her bread and water,

While her husband has his breakfast in bed.

Foreseeing a potential abandonment of the woman by her husband for a social-climbing heiress.

And the blossom in her cheek has turned to chalk,

She'll come home and lo,

He'll have upped and run away,

With a social-climbing heiress from New York.

Expressing conflicting emotions about the woman's potential hardship.

How humiliating! How delightful!

Anticipating the woman seeking refuge or forgiveness from the singer after a difficult period.

When she hammers on my door in tears and rags.

Miserable and lonely, repentant and contrite,

Will I take her in or hurl her to the walls?

The singer is torn between showing kindness or rejecting the woman who seeks forgiveness.

Will I take her back or throw the baggage out?

Claiming to be forgiving but also stubborn in certain principles.

The sort who never could, never would,

Take a position and staunchly never budge.

A most forgiving man.

The singer declares an unwillingness to take the woman back, even under desperate circumstances.

If she were even crawling on her knees.

Let her promise to atone,

Let her shiver, let her moan,

I'll slam the door and let the hell-cat freeze!

Dismissing the idea of the woman marrying someone else with a laugh.

Reiterating the singer's familiarity and attachment to the woman's daily expressions and emotions.

"Good morning" ev'ry day.

Her joys, her woes,

Her highs, her lows,

Are second nature to me now,

Like breathing out and breathing in.

Acknowledging the forgettable nature of the woman but admitting a growing attachment.

And so easy to forget, rather like a habit

One can always break - and yet,

Expressing a deep familiarity and attachment to the woman's presence and essence.

Of something in the air,

Accustomed to her face.