She was 16 and 6 feet tall
In a crowd of teenagers comin' out of the zoo.
She stumbles down to slip and fall
Teeter tottered on the top of patent leather shoes.
I happened to catch her and said,
"Maybe these ruby shoes are alittle cumbersome for you,
maybe for you now."

But not as shaky as I must have seemed,
Talkin' junk through her giggle, little teenage dream.
And on the phone I could not compete
My dumb-love fake competence was getting weak.
For a sec' I thought I sounded sweet,
but sure 'nough in a gruff, faint voice
I heard myself speak

(Chorus)
I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile.
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke.
And we could share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this.
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone.

Leave you alone, now.

I'm beginning to like you
So you probably won't get what I'm going to do.
I'm walkin' away from you.
It probably don't make much sense to you.
But I'm trying to save you
From all of the things that I'll probably say or do.

(Chorus)
I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile.
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke.
And we could share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this.
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone.

Leave you alone, now.

You'll probably call me a fool
And say I'm doin' exactly what a coward would do.
And I'm beginning to like you
It's a shame what a lame way to live,
But what can I do?
I hope you appreciate what I do.

I'm a martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you, now
A martyr for my love for you
A martyr for my love for you