Empty Chairs -- Don McLean

I feel the trembling tingle of a sleepless night 
Creep through my fingers and the moon is bright 
Beams of blue come flickering through my window pane 
Like gypsy moths that dance around a candle flame 

(**)  And I wonder if you know  That I never understood 
That although you said you'd go 
Until you did I never thought you would 

Moonlight used to bathe the contours of your face 
While chestnut hair fell all around the pillow case 
And the fragrance of your flowers rest beneath my head 
A sympathy bouquet left with the love that's dead 

(**)   

Never thought the words you said were true 
Never thought you said just what you meant 
Never knew how much I needed you 
Never thought you'd leave, until you went 

Morning comes and morning goes with no regret 
And evening brings the memories I can't forget 
Empty rooms that echo as I climb the stairs 
And empty clothes that drape and fall on empty chairs 

(**) 

His father died when he was just 15, and his marriage was on the rocks when he recorded the album. Faced with a bout of depression, he sympathized with Vincent Van Gogh, the Dutch painter who went insane and cut off his ear. Speaking with the UK newspaper The Telegraph, he revealed that in this song about a man who loses a love, the Empty Chairs are Van Gogh's paintings of a chair.

         painting “Van Goghs Chair 1888”