Lyrics
[verse]
Operator, can you put me through
To a number that I used to call, a house I used to know
The line keeps crackling like it's far away
I just need to hear a voice before I hang up and go
[verse]
Tell her that her old friend's doing fine
Tell her that I'm laughing more than I let on
Don't you dare tell her that I'm sitting in this booth
Dialing numbers till the coins are gone
[chorus]
Operator, that's not the way it feels
No, that's not the way it feels at all
The smile I'm wearing's just a mask I stole
To cover up the pieces when I fall
[verse]
She married someone steadier than me
Someone who could give her a quiet life
I took the road that always kept on moving
Now I'm just a stranger asking half a favor twice
[bridge]
Ain't no number gonna bring the old days back
Ain't no operator gonna fix what's cracked
But if you'd let this call go through tonight
I'd tell her once that I still see her in the light
[chorus]
Operator, that's not the way it feels
No, that's not the way it feels at all
The smile I'm wearing's just a mask I stole
To cover up the pieces when I fall
