Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Me and my baby on a February holiday
'cause we got the news
Yeah, we got the news
500 miles and we're gonna make it all the way
We've got nothing to lose
We've got nothing to lose
it's been 10 years waiting
But it's better late than the never
We've been told before
We can't wait one minute more
oh, me and my baby driving down
To a hilly seaside town in the rainfall
Oh, me and my baby stand in line
You've never seen a sight so fine
As the love that's gonna shine
At city hall
me and my baby've been through
A lot of good and bad
Learned to kiss the sky
Made our momma's cry
I've seen a lot of friends
After giving it all they had
Lay down and die
Lay down and die
10 years into it
Here's our window
At the vegas drive-through chapel
It ain't too much
For 'em all to handle
oh, me and my baby driving down
To a hilly seaside town in the rainfall
Oh, me and my baby stand in line
You've never seen a sight so fine
As the love that's gonna shine
At city hall
outside, they're handing out
Donuts and pizza pies
For the folks in pairs in the folding chairs
My baby's lookin' so damned pretty
With those anxious eyes
Rain-speckled hair
And my ring to wear
10 years waiting for this moment of fate
When we say the words and sign our names
If they take it away again someday
This beautiful thing won't change
oh, me and my baby driving down
To a hilly seaside town in the rainfall
Oh, me and my baby stand in line
You've never seen a sight so fine
As the love that's gonna shine
oh, me and my baby driving down
To a hilly seaside town in the rainfall
Oh, me and my baby stand in line
You've never seen a sight so fine
As the love that's gonna shine
At city hall
'cause we got the news
Yeah, we got the news
500 miles and we're gonna make it all the way
We've got nothing to lose
We've got nothing to lose
it's been 10 years waiting
But it's better late than the never
We've been told before
We can't wait one minute more
oh, me and my baby driving down
To a hilly seaside town in the rainfall
Oh, me and my baby stand in line
You've never seen a sight so fine
As the love that's gonna shine
At city hall
me and my baby've been through
A lot of good and bad
Learned to kiss the sky
Made our momma's cry
I've seen a lot of friends
After giving it all they had
Lay down and die
Lay down and die
10 years into it
Here's our window
At the vegas drive-through chapel
It ain't too much
For 'em all to handle
oh, me and my baby driving down
To a hilly seaside town in the rainfall
Oh, me and my baby stand in line
You've never seen a sight so fine
As the love that's gonna shine
At city hall
outside, they're handing out
Donuts and pizza pies
For the folks in pairs in the folding chairs
My baby's lookin' so damned pretty
With those anxious eyes
Rain-speckled hair
And my ring to wear
10 years waiting for this moment of fate
When we say the words and sign our names
If they take it away again someday
This beautiful thing won't change
oh, me and my baby driving down
To a hilly seaside town in the rainfall
Oh, me and my baby stand in line
You've never seen a sight so fine
As the love that's gonna shine
oh, me and my baby driving down
To a hilly seaside town in the rainfall
Oh, me and my baby stand in line
You've never seen a sight so fine
As the love that's gonna shine
At city hall
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He certainly did earn that reputation.
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Yes, this song is inspired by the brief window from February 12 to March 11, 2004 when the Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, legalized gay marriage.