D                  G              A                  D 
Payphones all were ringing as the crowd went roarin' by 
D              G             A           D 
Lovely dancers swayin' to an island lullaby 
  D                 G            A                  D 
Beside the southern ocean taking stock of what's to be 
D                G                  A7             D 
Writing you this letter that you'll probably never see 

    G D     A 
But I can't help but be 
G        D    A 
Ruled by inconsistencies 
G               A            D 
Not unique just distantly in love  
 
Tried to phone from Paris thinking things could be arranged 
Me and you would rendezvous but I found your number changed 
So I drove to San Remo where the crazy painter dwells 
Toasted our old photograph still up there on his shelf 
 
Chorus: 
 
But I can't help but be 
Ruled by my antiquities 
Not unique just distantly in love 
 
F#m            G 
I can't be the one to fill 
     F#m                G 
Your times and all your places 
F#m            G 
I can't be the one to fill 
     E                A 
Your blanks and empty spaces 
 
I heard it from a friend of ours I saw in Timber Bay 
You had a new lover who had stolen you away 
That could be the reason that I never got in touch 
May present slight problems if he loves you half as much 
 
Chorus: 
 
As I who can't help but be 
Ruled by my antiquities 
Not unique just distantly in love 
 
You know I can't help but be 
Part of my own philosophies 
Not unique just distantly in love