Table of Contents
SIDE B
Memories on the Half Shell
It starts at a party
well, doesn’t it always
I was taking a drag on the balcony
you were talking in the hallways
You took the aux cord
and you threw down some beats
I thought to myself-
this is one soul I’ve just got to meet
But then I decided to hang back
like if it happens, it happens
I really wasn’t trying to play it cool
more like if it happens, it happens
I was baked when you met me
& I was baked when you left me
you were jumping train to train
& I was just a station in the rain
When you asked my name
I should have told you a lie
it would have been better off
for both you and I
Hiphuggers on the floor
put your number in my phone
I want you to call me
when you’re in your room alone
Letters by post and
mix tapes on old cassettes
lipstick on envelopes
I held close to my chest
You were drunk when you met me
& you were drunk when you left me
you were jumping train to train
& I was just a station in the rain
And two summers from now
I won’t choke up when I hear your name
I’ll be able to put on Side B of your first mix tape
and I’ll pluck up enough courage not to hold you to blame
Just don’t be mad if I confess
that from time to time-
I still wear your hoodie to bed
Your Car
You gave away the songs we sang in the summertime
back then when everything would rhyme
and tonight, those days seem so far
when I saw him driving your car
You said as long as there was one moon
it would always be me
and it would always be you
well I saw him driving your car this afternoon
You were so convincing when you’d sing into my eyes
I even sang along
but today I fell from your star
when he drove past me in your car
Oh, those nights we couldn’t go to your house
and we couldn’t go to mine
we drove around this tiny town
making love as the moon shined down
I walked by your house on the coldest night of wintertime
your light was on and condensation ran down your window
I shivered as I continued down to the bar
thinking about those nights in your car
Recurring
The freckles on her face are golden like glitter
from where the sunlight lit her
her smile stretches from
Rishikesh to Marrakech
her slow drawl draws you into her milieu
she sets the malaise ablaze when she says-
“Je est un autre”
Nothing is as old as it seems
it’s as easy as holding your dreams
The freckles on her face beam like glitter
when the sunlight hits her
her smiles stretch from
Marrakech to Rishikesh
her lazy drawl draws you into her milieu
she sets the malaise ablaze when she says-
“Je est un autre”
Nothing is as new as it seems
it’s happened before in recurring dreams
3 AM and we’re dancing in the refrigerator light
I swear, Heaven’s below us
we’re singing different words, you must have them wrong
haha, no, it’s you who’s wrong!
I throw pennies at you like you’re the Trevi Fountain
I’m going to sew you into my sweater pocket
the song begins again on repeat and we rejoice all over again
I’m going to sew you into my sweater pocket
but it’s alright, I’ll make a little button so you can breathe just fine
my face hurts from laughing and your laugh makes me laugh
the later it gets, the louder it gets
I can’t catch my breath
we go into the chorus again
this is my favorite part
haha, no, it’s my favorite part!
so we have the most ridiculous fight over who loves this part more
oh, I won’t let you win
you’re so funny when you pout
I’m going to sew you into my sweater pocket
and make sure you’re right there whenever I leave the house
Sweater Pocket
Before the first gods
White Bishops in the snow
leaving tiny offerings to Ishtar
Icarus should have flown at night
then he would have been a star
Young Jesus leaves in a hurry
to catch the bands in Glastonbury
he cuts a sprig of thorn every spring
and sends it along to the Queen
Before the first gods
back when we were free
we were gold, my lover
before it was ever discovered
Muriel in the morning is tracing the trails
that lead up and around your neck
she lights up like a filament
brighter with every step of her trek
Before the first gods
back when we were free
we were gold, my lover
before it was ever discovered
Diamonds are so rare that
every woman you meet has one on her hand
pearls are so scarce that
every other woman has a string of them around her neck
Castles are raised
and then the castles are razed
as the cattle graze
eyes aglazed
unamazed
Hearts are so precious that
every day they get broken & thrown away
and planted so deep into the dirt that
they germinate into diamonds for another day
Castles are raised
and then the castles are razed
as the cattle graze
eyes compressed
completely unimpressed
Mermaid in a miniskirt
on dry land
shaking my hand
saying she loves my earlier work
She may be trying to be irreverent
but I’m not sure what that means
Mermaid in a bustier
dried in the middle of the scene
as an extra in her very own dream
says she hasn’t read my newest stuff yet
She may be trying to be derisive
but she has no idea what that means
During intermission
we take a peek beneath the curtain
but there’s no one behind the limelight
it’s all a bit of synthetic soul
the mermaid lives in a fish bowl
It’s a chorus that goes on long after the song has ended
Count every freckle on her shoulder
and kiss each individual one
when she falls asleep on your arm
Didn’t wake you up when I left
but I did leave kisses in your hair
so you can find them later there, dear
The Universe is half-asleep
and now I know it’s true
eventually, everyone falls for you
We broke morning making love
with the sun on the side of your face
and with your hair falling into my pillow
You smiled and said, dahling
you come undone so quietly
something I told you a hundred million times
Jimmy Bitten wants to start a band
expand it into a brand
go solo and make a new show
parlay the Big Score
into something a little more
it’s enough to make your backbone shiver
there’s plenty of souls swirling around the bottom of the Neurotic River
Geena Gems she cut her bangs just right
and decided that tonight she’s gonna let them all hang alright
hey- if that’s what they wanna do
that’s exactly what they’re gonna do
give ‘em enough rope and watch them swang
it really makes your last nerve quiver
there’s plenty of souls swirling around the bottom of the Neurotic River
It came in a dream and left in a flash
It came in a dream and left in a flash
Be forewarned when you gamble with those who’ve nothing to lose
they’ve always something to gain at the crossroads in the rain
and odds are, it’s you who’s left singing the blues
you have to understand, it’s all sleight of hand
they all stack the deck, slice your neck, and drink from your liver
leave you fishing for your very own soul from the bottom of the Neurotic River
It comes in a dream and leaves in a flash
It comes in a dream and leaves in a flash
I have this daguerreotype of you in my mind
I treat myself to memories of you
I love you so much that I’d like to hug you from inside your ribs
I told myself we were younger then, how could we have known?
Ridgeline
The periwinkle moon peeks above the peaks over the ridgeline
one of these days, I’m going to buy a really nice camera
I always say that, but I know I never will
I wake up and do my best to deny that I dreamt of you again
Don’t be afraid to rise
the moon doesn’t have a net either
The Moon switches from shoulder to shoulder
as shadows wrestle silhouettes in the dark
we eat purple hearts and stay up driving to the radio
going all the way back to The Colonies
Clouds blindfold the moon
still she shines
New Vintage
And when you roll your eyes
I saw your stars falling
they told me to take you to California
not Los Angeles, my love
but up to Napa and Sonoma
Oh, and when we leave these Texas skies
they’ll know we’re leaving for good
we’ll skip town without a word
like we always said we would
leaving for our greater good
When the sky is gorgeous and seems out of reach
we’ll remember the fireworks above Virginia Beach
And when the times comes
we won’t need the stars to guide us west
it don’t slow us down
I know you’ve given some away
but you always gave me your best
If you wanna see the dawn
then you gotta make it through the night
We’ll rest our heads along The Bay
and for once, I’ll have nothing to say
day trip out to Monterey
we’ll be the new vintage when we get down there, baby
your hand in mine, we’ll show them how to sway
ROADTRIP
BEER BAIT
ICE TACKLE
RV PARK BINGO
LOOSE SLOTS NEW GAMES
OLD AND LOST RIVER HENDERSON SWAMP
BAYOU TECHE DRY CREEK
GULF BLUE BEACON
SHELL ARCO
BAPTIST METHODIST
PRESBYTERIAN PENTECOSTAL
HARDEE’S SUBWAY
MCDONALD’S BURGER KING
UNEVEN LANES LIGHTS ON WHEN RAINING
GROOVED PAVEMENT SPEEDING FINES DOUBLED
WEIGEL’S MARATHON
BP MAPCO
ECONOLODGE COMFORT INN
DAYS INN LA QUINTA
ARBY’S WENDY’S
DUNKIN’ DENNY’S
LOVE’S SUNOCO
FLYING J EXXON
HONEY ISLAND SWAMP OKATIBBEE LAKE
RUBY FALLS LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN
BREAUX BRIDGE WHISKEY BAY
LITTLE BLACK CREEK MISSISSIPPI RIVER
