Cleopatra, Queen Of Denial

Well I said he had a lot of potential
He was only misunderstood
You know he didn't really mean to treat me so bad
He wanted to be good
And I swore one day I would tame him
Even though he loved to run hog wild
Just call me Cleopatra everybody, 'cause I'm the Queen of Denial

I knew he didn't have any money
Yeah that's why he couldn't buy me a ring
Oh and just because he bought himself a brand new pickup truck
Really didn't prove anything
And he never had to say he loved me
I could see it every time he smiled
Just call me Cleopatra everybody, 'cause I'm the Queen of Denial

Oh Queen of Denial, buyin' all his alibis
Queen of Denial, floatin' down a river of lies

Well I'm not gonna jump to conclusions
Or throw away this perfect romance
Even though I caught him dancin' last night
With a girl in a leopard skin pants
Yeah, he's probably stuck in traffic
And he'll be here in a litte while
Just call me Cleopatra everybody, 'cause I'm the Queen of Denial

Oh Queen of Denial, buyin' all his alibis
Queen of Denial, just floatin' down a river of lies

We asked Pam how this song came about. Here's her story:

A friend had called me with a really bad joke about Antony and Cleopatra.The punch line was "Because she was Cleopatra, queen of denial". The phrase stuck in my mind. That night Bob, Jan and I went to writer's night at the bluebird. I was inspired by the creative environment. A writer was performing and I kept thinking the next line should be "How gone is goodbye", but that's another story. Afterwards, we went to Perkin's for pancakes. I was full or energy and talked Bob and Jan into staying up all night to write songs. I'm a binge writer. We went home, made a pot of coffee and I grabbed the guitar and just started playing. I knew I wanted an up-tempo song. "Cleopatra" just fell out in a fit of creativity! So there you have it. One bad joke, one great writer's night and a few pancakes later... "Just call me Cleopatra everybody, 'cause I'm the Queen of Denial"

Cleopatra is one of five songs Tillis co-wrote on the new album [Homeward Looking Angel], and does not describe her personal life. The third writer on Cleopatra, Jan Buckingham, is based in Nashville, but her songs have been cut by artists of all styles. The native of St. Louis earned a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Missouri before embarking on a career in music. Her best known country cut is I Don't Mind the Thorns, a No.1 record for Lee Greenwood.