I keep a cheater's guitar by the keyboard at work
Every chord is just a button —no calluses no hurt
Somehow you heard about it and that day out of the blue
You sent me three whole minutes: a guitar a song and you
Glasses on eyes down your hair across the strings
An old song about red beans and the ache that missing brings
I sent you mine and told you"I'm awful it's a joke"
You said"No you sing well"and then these are the words you wrote:
Loose and easy that's the way to sing
Don't hold your breath don't fight with anything
Just let yourself enjoy it let it ring
Loose and easy —that's the way to sing
I played your video again and again on my way home
Now I'm humming about red beans in the elevator alone
Funny how three minutes can rearrange a week
Funny how a song can say what neither of us speak
Loose and easy that's the way to sing
Don't hold your breath don't fight with anything
Just let yourself enjoy it let it ring
Loose and easy —that's the way to sing
Truth is when you walk by I still suck my stomach in
I still count every word before I let a sentence begin
But you said it like you'd learned it the hard way long before:
Stop trying to be perfect —just enjoy it more
Loose and easy maybe that's the key
Not just for singing —maybe it's for me
I'll stop holding in I'll let the whole thing ring
Loose and easy that's the way to sing
Next time you bring the big one I'll bring my button toy
And we'll sing it loose and easy
Loose and easy
