Lyrics I'll Be Here - Audra McDonald

We met, of all places, in front of Gristides, some freakishly cold winter's day
I had on several unflattering layers of wool
He slipped on the ice with his grocery bags full
So I rescued some Fruit Loops he dropped by the curb
And he made some remark that my smile was superb
I thought that was sweet and I started to go and he said
"Hey, whatcha doing tomorrow?'

'Because I'll be here
At the corner of Bleaker and Mercer tomorrow at 7
If you want to meet up, I'll be waiting right here,
And in case there are two fellas waiting for you, my name's John."
He waved and then he was gone

Needless to say I went back there to meet him
Mostly to see if he'd show, and there he was
Out in the cold with his jacket pulled tight
He took me to dinner and kissed me goodnight
The next week we went to this terrible play
And the week after that drank hot chocolate all day
And suddenly, eight or nine months had flown by when he said
"Hey, whatcha doing the rest of your life?'

'Because I'll be here
Right beside you as long as you want me to be
There's no question
There is nothing I've wanted so much in my life
This might sound immature but I'm totally sure you're the one."
And we had just begun

We got hitched in September, our favorite month
With a rock band that played in this old synagogue
And we bought an apartment on West 17th street and talked about children and getting a dog
Our first anniversary came in a flash
And we promised to take the day off
He had to stop into his office that morning
And so I went walking uptown to this bakery I know
When I heard on the street what I thought was a joke
Till I noticed the sirens and saw all the smoke
So I'm running back home with this feeling of dread
To the voicemail he left with the last words he said

I'm sorry, I don't mean to ruin your evening by bringing up all of this stuff
You're probably wondering why I even called you tonight
Well today something happened that spooked me alright
I saw this storm cloud of papers fall down from the sky
And I thought of that day and I started to cry
When as sure as I breath I heard John clear as day saying
"Hey, you're allowed to move on. It's okay.'

'Because I'll be here
Even if you decide to get rid of my favorite sweater
Even if you go out on my birthday this year instead of staying at home letting all of life's moments pass by
You don't have to cry.'

'Because I'll be here
When you start going back to the places we went to together
When you take off my ring and you let yourself smile
When you meet some handsome and patient and true
When he says that he wants to be married to you
When you call him one night and he meets you downtown
When you finally answer him yes."
Yes
Jason, I will marry you
I will give you my heart
It has taken so long, but I'm ready to start
Right now John's whispering 'Congrats' in my ear cause I finally let myself tell you
That I will be here