She was reading a book that she'd already read  Just to pass the time  He just sat there and stared at the TV set  Like he was barely alive  And when the local news was over  They would climb the stairs  And crawl in bed underneath the covers  Like neither one was there     It's a long, long way  Across the great divide  The songs that they once sang  Now echo far and wide  They could still get back  All the love that they have lost  (But) only if they both will reach across  ('Cause) it's a long, long way to the other side  Of the great divide     He was up in the attic on the fourth of July  'Cause they flew a flag in the yard  When he found some old roses she had long ago dried  Before they drifted apart  And how the years had slipped right by them  He didn't understand  He carried a petal into the kitchen  And he placed it in her hand     It's a long, long way  Across the great divide  The songs that they once sang  Now echo far and wide  They could still get back  All the love that they have lost  (But) only if they both will reach across  ('Cause) it's a long, long way to the other side  Of the great divide