Well, you met her there on a New York City stair You were throwing up on your shoes Tryin' to write the great book well it really had you shook With a bad case of wintertime blues So you drag her down to the ragged side of town Shared 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 Smelled like springtime when you were just a boy And all the lilacs in Ohio All the lilacs in Ohio, there ya go In the city streets in the dirty winter snow All the lilacs in Ohio-hio Well, she is 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 You might see your own ass in a double whiskey glass But you cannot 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 in the dirty winter snow All the lilacs in Ohio-hio ♪ So you pin her handkerchief to clean white linen sheets And you unmake your bed and 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 are 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