Well, you met her there on a New York City stair

You were throwing up on your shoes

Tryin' to write the great book when it really had you shook

With a bad case of wintertime blues



So you drag her down to the ragged side of town

She had a taxi to carry her home

Then she left her handkerchief there beside you on the seat

As if to emphasize that you were all alone



It smelled like springtime and you were just a boy

And all the lilacs in Ohio

All the lilacs in Ohio. There ya go.

In the city streets and the dirty winter snow



All the lilacs in Ohio - hio.

Well, she's the love story you speak of

When you talk to Sam at the bar

But it's in the details your story often fails



Yeah, close, but no cigar

And you might see your own ass in a double whiskey glass

But you'll never erase her smile

And you'll never write it down, never find her in this town



Of phantom dreams and fingernail files

It was springtime, and you were just a boy

And all the lilacs in Ohio

All the lilacs in Ohio. There ya go



In city streets and the dirty winter snow

All the lilacs in Ohio - hio

So you pin her handkerchief to your clean white linen sheets

And you unmake your bed, crawl in



You imagine her there and you're tangled in her hair

And she smells like flowers again

And it's springtime, and you were just a boy

All the lilacs in Ohio



All the lilacs in Ohio. There ya go

In the city streets and the dirty winter snow

All the lilacs in Ohio - hio