By Surprise

Noel Stookey, Elaine Sutherland & Peter Yarrow
©1978 Songbirds of Paradise

I'd like to take you by surprise at the grocery store
Grab you by the hand and step on the electric door
Leave the shopping cart right where it is
I betcha somebody's got the same list
I wanna take us away from all this to a distant shore.

I'd leave the car by the curb with the motor on
The tape deck playin' our favorite love song
And you'd say "What in the world?"
And smile just like a little girl
And I'd say "I can't tell you now but it won't be long."

I know it sounds funny, but it's true...
I get so busy I forget I'm in love with you
And every now and then we need to get away to get close again.

Up in the air in a window seat
Your head on my shoulder and a blanket around our feet
We could leave the kids at home
And if you get worried we could telephone
We need a weekend of fun for under two hundred dollars complete.

So there we'd be in a sunny land
We'd lie on the beach and you could wiggle your toes in the sand
A tropical drink late at night
And a midnight dip if the temperature's right
The best things turn out better if they never were planned.

*

FACETS version:

Stookey/Sutherland/Yarrow
©2002 Neworld Media Publishing/Songbirds of Paradise.

I'd like to take you by surprise at the grocery store,
Grab you by the hand and step on the electric door.
Leave the shopping cart right where it is.
I betcha somebody's got the same list.
I wanna take us away from all this to a distant shore.

I'd leave the car by the curb with the motor on
And the tape deck playin' our favorite love song.
You'd say "What in the world?"
And smile just like a little girl,
And I'd say "I can't tell you now but it won't be long."

I know it sounds funny, but it's true...
I get so busy I forget I'm in love with you.
And every now and then
We need to get away to get close again.

Up in the air in a window seat,
Your head on my shoulder and a blanket around our feet,
We could leave the kids at home.
And if you get worried we could telephone.
We need a weekend of fun for under nine hundred dollars complete.

So there we'd be in a sunny land,
We'd lie on the beach and you'd wiggle your toes in the sand.
A tropical drink late at night
And a midnight dip if the temperature's right.
Sometimes the best plan is not having a plan.