The bus pulled up and I got on
It was empty, 'cept for two
A lady sitting at the front
And a man all dressed in blue
The lady sat in front alone
Her parcels by her side
The man, he stood alone in back
And I got on for my ride.
The sign in front said "Do Not Smoke"
Capacity...that's blurry
I couldn't see it from where I sat
But, I was in no hurry
I walked on up, to check it out
And read the aged old sign
It said "seating room is 63"
And standing ...twenty nine
I reached my stop and I got off
Not thinking much I guess.
But that man was still way in the back
And that lady in her dress
Was motionless up in the front,
Her parcel by her side
They hadn't moved since I got on
And it was an hour ride
Others joined us on the bus
But all were gone before
There was just these two, still motionless
When I walked out the door.
Each day for weeks I rode this bus
And each day, like before
The lady sat down front alone
And the man, behind the door
It never made much sense to me
He never changed his spot
It was if he were a sentinel
To guard this bus...his lot
One day I asked the driver
Why he never did sit down
He said "You must be new here"
"You can't be from this town"
I said "Why did that matter?"
He just laughed and looked at me
"It's never gonna change here"
"There's a certain courtesy"
I didn't understand him
And he never put forth more
So, I went on down the bus aways
And I sat just by the door
I passed my stop and rode a while
While others filtered through
Then all at once the lady rose
Followed by the man in blue
She left out front, him through the back
And it left me there alone
Well, except for the old driver
So, I rode around to home
I saw as we drove past them
On our return route down the Strand
The lady and The Man in Blue
Were walking, holding hands
I thought "What gives?, they sit apart"
She forward, him in back
Now here they are together
They're a train on the same track
I asked the driver to explain
This sight that I had seen
He said "Just wait a minute"
"And it won't seem so extreme"
He stopped the bus and came to me
And he walked past the back door
"See that faded line there miss"
As he pointed to the floor
I looked real close and there it was
It was a line in pastel blue
"Now, listen here's some history"
"This is something new to you"
"Way back when, a lifetime back"
"Segregation ruled the land"
"You didn't mix outside your race"
"You would never understand"
"The line there on the floor shows"
"Where the buses made their mark"
"The white folks stood on the drivers side"
"And the back was for the dark"
"skinned folks who rode with us"
"I know it don't sound fair"
"But that's the wasy it was back then"
"I know, 'cause I was there"
"This couple...they confuse you"
"Her in front and him in back"
"Did you ever stop and notice"
"She is white and he is black?"
"But, that's not the way things are today"
I said, still unsure of these two
He said "I know, my dear"
"But this way's all they knew"
"They've been a pair for twenty years"
"They've rode this bus for more"
"When he first rode, it was so bad"
"He came through the back door"
"He couldn't get on through the front"
"They wouldn't let him pass"
"In fact once some one threatened"
"him, they would soak him down with gas"
"So he went on back, through the back door"
"And then he crossed that line"
"And he's been doing so for sixty years"
"He's done it all this time"
"I never charge them to get on"
"I charge them when they leave"
I said "I don't see them pay"
He smiled and scratched his sleeve
"I never charge them money"
"No, that just would not be right"
"I tell them to just get safe home"
"And to have a lovely night"
"The next day when they board the bus"
"She smiles and looks at me"
"And as I look down to the back"
"I smile...and so does he"
"I know that it is different"
"But down here, it was the way"
"And this white girl and this black man"
"helped to show me shades of grey"
"He'll always ride in back there"
"And she'll be in front with me"
"But, you know that they're so happy"
"And that's why they ride for free"