Verse 1
There was a beautiful Australian,
With a sparkle in her eyes,
She said she'd never stay forever,
I never asked her why.
Then there was the girl in black,
With violet in her hair,
I liked a little danger...
Till I found too much was there.
Chorus 1
The ones that got away,
The ones that couldn't stay,
The ones I held for half a night
Then watched them drift away.
Do I miss them, or those days?
Do I miss who I was then?
The ones that got away
Keep getting away again.
Verse 2
Bad ideas and poor decisions,
What could possibly go right?
Names I couldn’t quite remember
By the morning after night.
Kisses with expiration dates,
Promises that didn’t last...
Far too many stories
Better left back in the past.
Chorus 2
The ones that got away,
The ones that couldn't stay,
The ones I held for half a night
Then somehow chased away.
Do I miss them, or those days?
Do I miss who I was then?
The ones that got away
Keep getting away again.
Verse 3
There were women wearing wedding rings
Who lingered now and then,
Confessing the life they had
Wasn't quite enough for them.
A look that lasted far too long,
A line we wouldn't cross...
Funny how the things you never had
Can still feel like a loss.
Bridge
I blamed it on bad timing,
On luck and circumstance,
A long parade of almost-love
I never gave a chance.
But looking at the evidence,
I know my part by now...
Maybe all the ones that got away
Might make me get it right somehow.
Chorus
The ones that got away,
The ones that couldn’t stay,
The ones I held for half a night
Then somehow chased away.
But out of all the almost-loves
The good, the strange, the bad,
There’s one I never got to lose...
The chance I never had.
[Guitar solo]
Chorus
The ones that got away,
The ones that couldn't stay,
The ones I held for half a night
Then somehow chased away.
But looking at the evidence,
One fact is hard to dodge...
Of all the ones that got away,
There’s one suspect still at large