Cover art for Close But No Cigar by Thomas Dolby

Close But No Cigar

Produced by

Nov. 3, 19921 viewer

Close But No Cigar Lyrics

You came close
Close but no cigar
You didn't miss by far
You know you came this close
Close but no cigar


Some people sing love songs
Everybody's got one
This isn't my love song
It's more like my love-gone-wrong song

She came to breakfast
And stayed a week
But the lie detectors
Broke down each time she tried to speak
Broke down when she said:

"You came close
Close but no cigar
You didn't miss by far
You know you came this close
Close but no cigar
No matter where you are
You know you came this close
Close but no cigar"
I remember, I remember, I remember
The promise in your eyes
As black as the night I drove you to the airport
And I remember, I remember, I remember
The wide Brazilian sky that swallowed you

Then I hit thirty
Guess I can't complain
But I must have been lonely
The night I bumped into Lorraine

She came for coffee
And stayed all night
But the lie detectors
Broke down every time I tried to smile
Broke down like the story of my life
And each dream I missed by half a mile
Broke down when I told her:

"You came close
Close but no cigar
You didn't miss by far
You know you came this close
Close but no cigar
No matter where you are
You know you came so close
Close but no cigar
You didn't miss by far
You know you came this close
Close but no cigar
We're better off by far
But you know we came this close
Close but no cigar"

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Have the inside scoop on this song?
Sign up and drop some knowledge
Credits
Produced By
Written By
Keyboards
Backing Vocals
Release Date
November 3, 1992
Tags
Comments