Nanci Griffith - Love Wore A Halo (Back Before The War) Lyrics

She owned a hotel on the Jersey shore
She made her living sending sailors
Door to door
He was the small one with a
Crooked smile
Oh, he made her eyes light up like
The heavens on the Fourth of July

She ran the numbers... They say she
Ran 'em clean
Those porcelain hands could keep
A ledger even in her sleep
While he worked the Seabees in
The Philippines
They say she made more money than
You or I will ever see

[Chorus:]
Love was an anchor on the
Jersey shore
If you were looking for love, boys,
You could've found it in forty four
'Cuz love wore a halo... back before
The war
When the men loved the women
And the women knew what men
Were for

It was in the winter when he came home
He had to hold those porcelain hands
Just to keep her warm
So they had a daughter... they named
Her Stephanie Anne
Hey, they sent her off to Vassar to
Find herself a family man

[Chorus]

Now, she sold the hotel... it belongs to me
I watch those sailors come and go
Like the waves in the sea
I've hung their portraits in the
Honeymoon suite
I hear they're fishin' their lives away
In the Florida Keys

[Chorus]