The whole of the show's lyrics are poems from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and other poems by T. S. Eliot. Midnight, not a sound from the pavement Has the moon lost her memory? She is smiling alone In the lamplight the withered leaves collect at my feet And the wind begins to moan (The opening verse is just a description of walking down a street at night, when the moon is out and there is a cold wind) Memory, all alone in the moonlight I can smile at the old days I was beautiful then I remember the time I knew what happiness was Let the memory live again (And as the person walks alone, a memory comes back to them from the past, of a time when they were young and beautiful and happy. It was a good time) Every street lamp seems to beat A fatalistic warning Someone mutters and a streetlamp gutters And soon it will be morning (Back to the present. The lamps are possibly flickering, as this was a time of oil or gas lamps and they had enough wick for a set time; there are also the first people beginning to go to work. it is almost morning) Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise I must think of a new life And I mustn’t give in When the dawn comes tonight will be a memory too And a new day will begin (The person thinks; I can't keep living in the past. Life goes on. Night becomes day. Even this night will become a memory when the new day comes) Burnt out ends of smoky days The stale cold smell of morning The streetlamp dies, another night is over Another day is dawning (Back to reality:days are likened to cigarette stubs, whose smells linger on into the next day. The lamps finally go out. It's a new day) Touch me, it’s so easy to leave me All alone with the memory Of my days in the sun If you touch me, you’ll understand what happiness is Look, a new day has begun" (the singer asks someone-anyone- to touch her/him, to wake him/ her up in a sense. It would be so easy to ignore her and let her live in the past, but it is not good for her. And, now that he/she has decided that it is better to look to the future than live in the past, he/she wants to pass on the happiness s/he feels, that a new day has, indeed, begun. That is my interpretation.