I never knew his name but he knew how to break hearts
Smooth, taut, golden skin lying topless in the tall grass
Though I was just a kid, I remember
His hair was tousled and dark
He was always there every summer
With a new tattoo on his arm
I'd spend endless hours watching boys in his band
Ride their mopeds through the town
Something stirring inside of me
And that cruel August sun on his face got me burning up now
And every time I feel that sting of the summer sun
I get lost in the romance
Those still reflections on the water
And the sound of their engines tearing through the town
The dust and the tyre tracks
That painful sting of an endless summer
What I wouldn't give just to steal a kiss
From the boy with the bronze tan
I swear I caught his eye that day by the riverside
He held me in his gaze
In the corner of his mouth a smile
But I never told another soul
I just kept it hidden inside
I could justify these feelings if it was some other place and time
But the wind here's starting to pick up
(Yeah)
And the stars are not aligned
I'd spend endless hours fighting urges to regret
What could have been in another life
Now the houses are boarded up, all the tourists have gone
He's a faded memory now
And every time I feel that sting of the summer sun
I get lost in the romance
Those still reflections on the water
And the sound of their engines tearing through the town
The dust and the tyre tracks
That painful sting of an endless summer
What I wouldn't give (what I wouldn't give)
Just to steal a kiss (just to steal a kiss)
From the boy with the bronze tan
I swear I caught his eye that day by the riverside
I couldn't muster the strength to start over
My eyes welled up but my heart stayed sober
After that summer I never saw him again
But he's always been here
♪
There's a place for people like you and me
And this space lies buried deep in the past
In a world of ghosts and 'what-could-have-been's
But the children have grown up fast
All the ink has faded
The world is a better place now
And every time I feel that sting of the summer sun
I get lost in the romance
Those still reflections on the water
And the sound of their engines tearing through the town
All the dust and the tyre tracks
That painful sting of an endless summer
(And it burns under the skin)
What I wouldn't give (what I wouldn't give)
Just to steal a kiss (just to steal a kiss)
From the boy with the bronze tan
That's where I said goodbye
That day by the riverside