Movies of the Mind (2014)

Mike: Hello! Welcome, welcome, welcome. And thank you, thank you, thank you. Heh heh heh. Nice to see everybody. Sit, sit, sit, sit. It’s great, great. Thanks so much. Uh, before we go, I want to introduce the band, rather than after the show, so you can notice who’s up here playing. This is Boh Cooper on the keyboards. Heh heh heh heh. And Mr. Chris Scruggs on sort of everything. Behind me is Paul Leim, drummer. And this is Joe Chemay on the bass.

Mike: Tonight, I’m gonna be just playing only songs that I wrote, um, they’re like, they’re kinda like movies in my mind, so that’s kinda how I came up with the idea for the tour because uh, these songs are set in my head in these imaginary narrative settings. They’re set like a gemstone in a ring or a bracelet. It’s not what the song is about; it’s more of where the song takes place, you know, how it applies. So I thought I would share that with you as introductions to the song. So here we go. Figure that it’s late 1880s, and uh, we’re in the uh, northern plains of the uh, U.S., next to Mississippi River, in a small town, a small town train platform. Uh, he is a big man in his late forties, a full beard, big barrel chest. She is a slip of a girl, eighteen years old, brown eyed, and has a bright red hat tied around her hair. Through hard winters, and famine, and flood, they’re all that’s left of a family that came here years ago. So today, she’s excited, she’s a little nervous, because she’s on her way to school in the east. And so she steps on the train, she waves goodbye to her dad until she can’t see him anymore. Now, dad goes, gets behind his best horse in the buggy and heads down a dirt road to this sprawling ranch that he’s created over the years with his own hands. And he thinks back on the times with his daughter, the good times, the affections as well as the fights, and it brings a smile to his face. It’s new beginnings for both of them. So, he clicks up his horse into a canter, and the memories flood in as this new day begins. This is uh, from Magnetic South, it’s a triptych of songs, it’s uh, “Calico Girlfriend”, “Nine Times Blue”, and “Little Red Rider”.

Me and my calico girlfriend
Starting a set of new rules
Watching the stars as they drop in
Making the night time a fool

Wandering over a roadway
Changing the signs of the times
Looking for love and a new day
Seeing with more than our eyes

Keeper of men and of shadow
Follow us up to the top
Taking the latch off the window
Giving us more than we’ve dropped

Me and my calico girlfriend
Suddenly stare at the face
Of time and its hope that we’ll win
Then softly drop out of the race

[break]

Me and my calico girlfriend
Suddenly stare at the face
Of time and its hope that we’ll win
Then softly drop out of the race

There’s a certain something in the way
You looked at me and said you’d stay
That let me know I was out of line
I did not know what else to do
Like a fool, I tested you
By demanding things of you which weren’t mine

And now I feel like such a fool
For making you crawl back to me
But you did it with such love
That you’re standing far above
Me and all I did to you
I’m sorry now, what can I do?

I know that never in the world
Could I have found me such a girl
Who’s there to pick me up before I fall
And if in the end, we should go
Both our separate ways, I know
The lesson I’ve learned here is worth it all

Little red rider, ride on the railroad
And she cried
Little red rider, rides on the railroad
Waved goodbye

So long sunshine, ride away
I know you’ll come back someday
And light my light

Little Miss Red sleeps on the railroad
There she goes
Little Miss Red asleep in the railroad
Nobody knows
Little Miss Red is Little Miss Blue
And she looks a lot like you
Around the eyes

Nobody was home in town
Oh, nobody was home in town
Nobody was home in the town I called home
Somebody said, oh, they all drowned

Oh, goodbye, sweet miss, just give me one kiss
And then I’ll go
Bye bye, sweet miss, give me one kiss
But don’t let it show
Turn your brown eyes to the wall
Was that message there before
You were so wise?

[break]

Oh, goodbye, sweet miss, just give me one kiss
And then I’ll go
Bye bye, sweet miss, give me one kiss
But don’t let it show
Turn your brown eyes to the wall
Was that message there before
You were so wise?
Ah-ha

Mike: Thank you. Very much.

Mike: Okay, so now, urban setting, present day, an apartment building full of people. They come and going, and seeing each other every day. It’s um, uh, everyone’s in and out of each other’s apartment, it’s a big community, it’s maybe not a family, but it’s very close. There’s a deli downstairs, and uh, they see each other on the street and say hello, and they just know each other real well. He sees her often, and uh, sometimes, he brings her a gift, and she will sometimes uh, fix them both dinner at her apartment. They are together a few nights a week. They are lovers, and one night, standing over the sink in the tiny kitchen, doing the last of the dishes, he watches her a long time in silence, and then, he says this to her.

I’ve known for a long time the kind of girl you are
Of a smile that covers teardrops
The way your head yields to your heart
Of things you’ve kept inside that most girls could not bear
I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care

I’ve known of all the heartache, I’ve known of all the pain
I’ve seen you when the sun shines
And I’ve seen you when it rains
I’ve seen you make a look of love from just an icy stare
I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care

Oh, I know I’ve been blind
To not have loved you all this time
But the image of you wasn’t clear
I guess I was standing too near

So it’s taken me a while, oh, but I have finally found
What you are to me, and that’s what really counts
And what you are to me is something we can share
I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care

[break]

Oh, I know I’ve been blind
To not have loved you all this time
But the image of you was not clear
I guess I was standing too near

And it’s taken me a while, oh, but I have finally found
What you are to me, and that’s what really counts
And what you are to me is something we can share
I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care
Yes, I’ve known you for a long time, but I’ve just begun to care

Mike: Thank you very much. Thanks, thanks very much. Thank you. That song’s called “Propinquity”, and it means “nearness”. It’s off uh, one of the First National Band albums.

Mike: Okay, 1950s, a sidewalk cafe in Paris on a sunny day. So there’s cobblestone and there’s the rattle of taxis and the dinging of bicycle bells. And the awning that hangs out from the side of a building over crowded tables, and it’s uh, it bustles like a painting by Renoir. In the midst of this convivial crowd, there’s a couple that sits in silence. Um, she is uh, modern, she’s a beauty in a scarf and big sunglasses and sandals. There’s a distance between she and he, who is a dashing young fellow with fine features, but now, drawn in concern. She wants to be a mother, and he wants to be a lover. So there is sadness, there’s tension, tristesse. They both know that before they can love each other, they must first love the same things. So after a long silence, he says for both of them what must be said. The song is “Different Drum”.

Well, you and I travel to the beat of a different drum
Whoa, can’t you tell by the way I run
Every time you make eyes at me?

You cry, you moan, you say, “It’ll work out”
Oh, but honey child, I’ve got my doubts
Can’t see the forest for the trees

And don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I knock it
It’s just that I am not in the market
For a girl who wants to love only me

I’m not sayin’ that you’re not pretty
No, all’s I’m sayin’s I’m not ready
For any person, place, or thing
To try and pull the reins in on me

And I feel pretty sure you’ll find you a man
And he’ll take a lot more than I ever could or can
You’ll settle down with him
I know you’ll be happy

[break]

No, I’m not sayin’ that you’re not pretty
Oh, all’s I’m sayin’s I’m not ready
For any person, place, or thing
To try and pull the reins in on me

And I feel pretty sure you’ll find a man
He’ll take a lot more than I ever could or can
And you’ll settle down with him
And I know you’ll be happy

So goodbye, I’m leaving
I see no sense in your crying and your grieving
We’ll both live a lot longer
If you live without me
We just got to learn to live without each other, babe
That’s all it is
We’ve just gotta learn it
We can learn it
We can learn it
We just gotta learn it

Mike: Wow, thanks. Thanks a lot. That’s great. That’s terrific. Thank you very, very much. Thanks.

Mike: Alright, well, present day. It’s a small house in a, in a neighborhood just after dark, and it’s the home of a working couple, so it’s a, it’s a small house, it’s cluttered, it’s messy, it’s got old and worn furniture, but it’s been handed down from loving families. And as the night settles in, she kisses her child, pats her off to bed. He sits and studies because, looking for a better future. And then, as she has for some weeks past, she goes to the window and she looks out at the neighborhood houses, and they’re all the same, and then she sees her reflection in the glass, and she only sees herself getting older. So this panic has been creeping in for a while, but now it surrounds her. And she’s never thought of leaving, she’s never thought of running from this life to search out another, but tonight, just in a flash, she’s rationalized it all in her head, and she turns to him and announces her intent. Well, he’s stunned at first. He’s hurt, he’s afraid, he’s sad, and he’s angry, but after a moment, a calm comes over him, a kind of confidence, and he stands, and he pulls her into his arms, then wraps her tight. It takes two to tango, and it takes two to get a divorce, but sometimes, only one, simple, loving thought can save a family. The song is “Some of Shelly’s Blues”.

Tell me just one more time the reasons why you must leave
Tell me once more why you’re sure you don’t need me
Tell me again, but don’t think you’ll convince me

Now you’ve said before falling in love again, you’d rather be dead
’Cause when someone breaks your heart, you cry your eyes red
But there’s nothing so hard about the life you’ve led

As far as I can see, there’s no reason for goodbyes
You’re just runnin’ scared, that’s something I won’t buy

And so you lose, I won’t let you go with nothin’ to show but more blues
And all this talk about leavin’ is just, huh, bad news
So you settle down, stay with the one that love you

“Explain it, Boh, explain it.”

[break]

As far as I can see, there’s no reason for goodbye
You’re just runnin’ scared, and that’s something I won’t buy

And so you lose, I won’t let you go with nothin’ to show but more blues
And all this talk about leaving, that’s just bad news
So you settle down, stay with the ones that love you
Yeah, you settle down, stay with the man that loves you
Whoa, you settle down, stay with me
Stay with me

Mike: Heh heh, thanks. Wow. Thank you, thank you so much. Thanks a lot. Ha ha ha ha. That’s great. Okay. Huh huh.

Mike: Alright, late in the day, timeless, a rural setting, kinda rolling hills and stuff, and it’s a picnic in the meadow, under a big weeping willow tree next to a pond. It’s twilight, so the uh, sky is deep purple and dark orange. The air is sweet with romance. She is in a sundress with a big straw hat and her feet tucked up underneath her. She sits on the grass, and she’s a youthful beauty. Uh, her world is new, uh, full of uh, discovery. She’s fascinated with him, her first love. He is gentle, he’s patient, he’s a bit older, and so he has his own memories of fascinating young women. As the twilight turns to evening, she whispers her first false lover’s promise into his ear, and then walks away toward her home, to her mother and father, from whom he is a secret. Well, he knows what’s happened. The futility of the romance had been clear to him for some time. So, now, as he stands alone in this old kind of dusty road, familiar, he knows he must make his own way back to his own home. Two songs play through this vignette, “Joanne” and “Silver Moon”.

Her name was Joanne
And she lived in a meadow by a pond
And she touched me for a moment
With a look that spoke to me of her sweet love
Then the woman that she was drove her on with desperation
And I saw as she went, a most hopeless situation
For Joanne and the man and the time that made them both run

She was only a girl
I know that well, but still I could not see
That the hold that she had
Was much stronger than the love she felt for me
But staying with her and my little bit of wisdom
Broke down her desires like a light through a prism
Into yellows and blues and a tune I could not have sung

Though the essence is gone
I have no tears to cry for her
My only thoughts of her are kind

Her name was Joanne
And she lived in a meadow by a pond
And she touched me for a moment
With a look that spoke to me of her sweet love
Then the woman that she was drove her on with desperation
And I saw as she went, a most hopeless situation
For Joanne and the man and the time that made them both run
For Joanne and the man and the time that made them both run

See the lazy windmill slowly turning
Cutting up the marble canyons of the sky
See the dust around my feet go churning
Moving with the winds down the highways of goodbye

I’m standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
Looking over maps of memories for the road
Standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
With the unexpected destination of my home

Half the thoughts I’m thinking speak in sighs
As that same old wave of loneliness returns
And I can see you when I close my eyes
Speaking very softly as you turn

And I’m standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
Looking over maps of memories for the road
Standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
With the unexpected destination of my home

[break]

Now I must go
Go and let go

I’m standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
I’m looking over maps of memories for the road
Standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
With the unexpected destination of my home
With the unexpected destination of my home
With the unexpected destination of my home
Of my home

Mike: Thanks very much. Thank you. Huh, huh. Thanks, wow, great, yes, great. Fantastic. Back at ya. Alright.

Mike: So late in the, the 1920s, in one of the grand cinema palaces that’s just been built. So it empties quickly just after the movies are over, and, but he stays in the theater, and so, pretty quickly, he’s all by himself just sitting in the theater alone. He’s savoring the possibilities that this new cinema thing had just uncovered in his own thought. It’s evoked forgotten desires. And he wonders, would he ever act on them, or should he, or if he were to act, what would he do? Where would he find himself? Who knew the blank white movie screen would be his tabula rasa. Who could have imagined the collective dreaming in the theater would force such questions as what is real, and what is unreal, and if life is a journey, then where is home? From the album Radio Engine to the Photon Wing, this is “Rio” and “Casablanca Moonlight”.

Hearing the light from the window
I’m seeing the sound of the sea
My feet have come loose from their moorings
I’m feeling quite wonderfully free

So I think I will travel to Rio
I’ll use the music for flight
For there’s nothing I know of in Rio
But it’s something to do with the night

It’s only a whimsical notion
To fly down to Rio tonight
I probably won’t fly down to Rio
Then again, I just might

Because there’s wings to the thought behind fancy
Yes, there’s wings to the thought behind play
And dancing to rhythms of laughter
Makes laughter the rhythm of rain

So I think I will travel to Rio
Using the music for flight
There’s nothing I know of in Rio, ah
But it’s something I can do with the night

Yeah, it’s only a whimsical notion, I know
To fly down to Rio tonight
And I probably won’t fly down to Rio
But, then again, I might

[break]

I feel such a sense of well-being, yeah, I’ll say
These problems have come to be solved
And what I thought was proper for battle
I see now is proper for love

So I think I will travel to Rio
Using the music for flight
There’s nothing I know of in Rio
But it’s something I can do with the night

It’s only a whimsical notion, ah
To fly down to Rio tonight
I probably won’t fly down to Rio
Ha, but then again, I just might
Yeah, I just might fly down to Rio tonight
I just jump on an airplane and fly down there
I could get on a boat and go down there
I could swim
Just take the music

Motor yacht pulses in the Casablanca moonlight
Pomade and perfume fill the summer air
Ladies of the island
Ladies of estate
Mingle close and dance the rumba
That’s why they’re there

Moroccan magic pouring off the silver screen
Taking me to places no one has ever been
Fly the China Clipper
Sail the Sally B.
There’s no need to try to tell me
It’s not what it seems

Because it all takes me home
It all takes me home
It all takes me home

Summer sun Havana palms sway beside the clear green seas
Movies of Havana are all that I can see
Still enchantment wakes me
Enchantment takes me
To the promise of perfection
Outside the dream

Motor yacht pulses in the Casablanca moonlight
Pomade and perfume fill the summer air
Ladies of the island
Ladies of estate
Mingle close and dance the rumba
That’s why they’re there

It all takes me home
It all takes me home
It all takes me home

Mike: Thank you. Ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha.

Mike: Alright, so, now let us become the camera. Had the, we had the theater, let’s be the camera for a moment. Our lens is clouded over, so um, we have to pull back, and as we pull back, we reveal a raindrop, and we watch it as it falls to the ground from high up, and as it falls downward, away from us, toward a dark, wet, city street, we pull back, up higher, just keep farther away, so then, then we can see off to our right is a waterfall, and it’s falling hundreds of feet down into an estuary of a white sand tropical jungle beach with arching palm trees out over the ocean. And we keep pulling back, and now we can see all the oceans of the earth. And then we pull back, and we can see our spinning planet as a blue orb in our solar system, and we pull back, and now we can see our galaxy in the universe. It’s our mind’s eye, infinite in its reach, opens the cosmos to us. And then, we gaze in wonder, as our final pull back reveals all of this is reflected in the minute eye of a butterfly that’s just landed on our hand. This is, from tropical campfires, “Yellow Butterfly”.

The rain falls through Chicago skies
People stare and wonder why
And somewhere sails a yellow butterfly

Jaguar circles in the night
The jungle glistens by moonlight
And somewhere sails a yellow butterfly

All in all in all in all
Like an island waterfall
Days and nights revolve around
Her flying, silent sound, ah

Mother wakes and father turns
A candle flame surreally burns
And somewhere sails a yellow butterfly

“Listen to this.”
[break]

All in all in all in all
Like an island waterfall
Days and nights revolve around
Her flying, silent sound

Mother wakes and father turns
A candle flame surreally burns
And somewhere sails a yellow, ha, butterfly
A yellow butterfly
A yellow butterfly

Mike: Thank you. Thank you.

Mike: Alright, so, International Space Station. He wakes from his sleep cycle, and then he crawls in the observation pod of the uh, of the space shuttle. And he’s in orbit, high above the planet. And all the other crew members are asleep. And so, he, from here, he can see far out into space. And the stars and all their colors are arrayed before him like the pictures we see of the Hubble telescope. Beautiful things. And the glow of the earth is this arc above him, and moonlight is a reflection of the sun. It slowly occurs to him where once he thought he was in a universe of darkness, he now realizes he’s in a universe of light, in every direction of thought. Everywhere there is darkness, the light destroys it. The darkness is powerless against it. These songs are a diptych, “Light” from Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma and “Rays” from the album of the same name.

There’s a light from the doorway
There’s a light from the hall
And the light from the window
Is the brightest of all

There are lights in the city
There are lights in the sky
They are the lights from the window
They are the lights in my eyes

[break]

There’s a light that is solo
There’s a light that’s so high
They are lights from the shadows
There are lights of goodbye

I’ve been waiting, waiting for answers
From the light in my soul
And the light that keeps calling
Are the lights of hello

See all those rays
Shining from the inside out
See all those rays
Rays are what it’s all about

I see rays
Shining, moving in and out of phase
I see rays
Shining, fascinating rays for days

Oh, see all the rays
Shining from the outside in
See all the rays
They’re shining from the where and when

I see rays
Shining down upon the darkened page
I see rays
Shining out from each successive stage

Oh, I see rays
Waiting for the light of mine
Wondering what I will find
Are they gonna leave me wandering in darkness?
Are they gonna leave me dancing on the mountain?
Oh, ah

[break]

Are they gonna, are they gonna leave me?
Are they gonna, are they gonna leave me?
Are they gonna, are they gonna leave me?
Are they gonna leave me dancing on the mountain?

Oh, I see rays
See all the rays
Yes, rays, they’re everywhere, rays
And I see rays
Oh, see all those rays
I see rays
Yeah, I, I see rays
I see rays
See all those rays
See all those rays

Mike: Thanks very much. Thank you. Thanks a lot.

Mike: Okay, on the streets of L.A., three characters meet: Lucy, Ramona, and Sunset Sam. Each one has been lonely, each one searching, all trying to find their own place in the planet, and then when they find that place, they also find each other, much to their surprise, ’cause it’s very unlikely. So they discover a connection, but it’s a connection that sets them free. Alright, so it becomes a cause for celebration, dancing and good times, and the night on the town. And for this {deux} montage, which is—montage is, you know, where the spinning newspapers come sssshhooo like that, with the pretty ladies and the pretty men in it, and then it’s a, dissolves into a picture of a martini glass, and the neon signs, and down over long lines of limos outside of a posh club, and it’s, and then, inside people are dancing frantic and {rompus} and so forth. That’s this. Tonight is the only night. This is from uh, Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma and from the long form video Elephant Parts, a triptych of “Cruisin’”, “Dance”, and “Tonite”.

Lucy and Ramona cruisin’ through the jungles of L.A.
Hopin’ to promote a dream somewhere along the way
They’re rollin’ through the streets, they’re lookin’ for a disco
And they’re passin’ up the treats from a kid named Cisco
Ah, tryin’ to make connections
With their blemish-free complexions
And just as fate would have it
They ended up with Sunset Sam

Sam was sellin’ watches from a suitcase on a T.V. tray
And Lucy and Ramona were tryin’ to figure out if he was gay
The three of them were standing, just staring at each other
When the light behind their eyes blew each other’s cover
The ancient code was branded
And each of them was handed
A ticket to their kingdom
’Cause they saw their brother Sunset Sam

Lucy and Ramona and Sunset Sam
People on the streets tryin’ to find a plan
People on the streets, they’re lookin’ for the land
Lucy and Ramona
And their brother Sunset Sam
(Oh)

Lucy was from Compton, and she met Ramona at the zoo, uh
And Ramona was from Brooklyn, but she left when she was twenty-two
Sam was a native of the Arizona desert
But he split when he was slated for some governmental make work
Their differences subsided
When the common bond was sighted
They were all from the same place
That made the famous Sunset Sam

Lucy and Ramona and Sunset Sam
People on the streets tryin’ to find a plan
People on the streets just lookin’ for the land
Lucy and Ramona
And their brother Sunset Sam

I said, Lucy and Ramona and Sunset Sam
People on the streets, they’re tryin’ to find a plan
People on the streets, they’re just lookin’ for the land
Lucy, Ramona
And their brother Sunset Sam

Here comes another blow
You take it on the chin
But oh no, mama
You just don’t understand

I said all I wanna do
Is dance and have a good time
All I wanna do
Is just dance around with you and have a good time

Stuck in the freeway
I’m stuck in the woods
I’m trying like the devil
Not to get stuck for good

And all I wanna do
Dance and have a good time
Yeah, all I wanna do
Is just dance around with you and have a good time
Woo!

Come on, fly away with me, baby
Fly away with me
Let’s hit the streets
We’ll find a retreat
And dance away all this mystery

Yeah, I’m working every day
I’m just trying to make a dollar
I’m bored to distraction
I’m tryin’ not to holler

But all I wanna do
Is dance and have a good time
All I wanna do
Is dance around, have a good time

“Woo! Get me outta here!”
[break]

All I wanna do
Is just dance around with you and have a good time
Said all I wanna do
Is dance with everybody, have a good time

“{Go after it!}”

You get the moon, ah
I’ll get the stars
You get the wind, and uh
I’ll get the cars
You make the stops
I’ll make the starts
Tonight

You get the gum, ah
I’ll get the Pez
Lucille Ball, ah
Desi Arnaz
I got the soap, hah
You get the toy
I got the girls
You get the boys
I’ll make the light and
You make the noise
Tonight

Living inside of a little glass room
Living inside of the tube
Well, everybody’s made out of little thin line
And sometimes, their fingers are blue
Their minds are too, ah

You get the cops
I’ll get the phone
You get the nurse
And I’ll go on home
Sally loves Bob
Jim needs a shave
Why did you come
If you just stand there and rave?
Tonight

You get the tape
I’ll get the rule
You watch the steaks
And I’ll fill the pool
You watch the lawn
I’ll watch the door
You watch a little
And I’ll watch some more
Tonight

Living inside of a little glass room
Living inside of the tube
Everybody’s made out of little thin lines
And so are me, and so are you, and so are me and you

[break]

I’m inside of the tube
I’m just stuck inside of a tube
I wish I could get out and come over there with you
But we’re all stuck inside of the tube
Ah, I’m blue

(Doo doo doo, doo doo doo)
(Doo doo doo, doo doo doo)
(Doo doo doo, doo doo doo)
(Doo doo doo, doo doo doo)

(Doo doo doo, doo doo doo)
(Doo doo doo, doo doo doo)
(Doo doo doo, doo doo doo)
(Doo doo doo, doo doo doo)

Mike: That’s from Elephant Parts. Ha ha ha ha ha. Ah, thanks. Yeah, ha.

Mike: Alright, well, the night comes to a close. Bright new red Ferrari screamin’ through this early morning. Empty freeway, city skylines in back of ’em. Sun’s comin’ up. Sun slowly rising behind them. Their night on the town has come to a close. She’s at the wheel in a tight red dress and five inch heels. With lipstick and nails to match. He slumps next to her in a loose rumpled black slick tie dangling from his collar and then the rising whine of the engine takes him over, and then he stares blearily, bored, into his own future. Tonight, once the predator, he has become the prey, and he’s running from the Grand Ennui.

I was overland tourin’ in my new Ferrari
At just about a hundred and ten
I was on my way home from a sophisticated party
Where I got a little drunk on gin

As the headlights cast
This glow out on the road
I heard this voice inside of me
It said, “You lost the light
Now you’re movin’ through the night
Runnin’ from the grand ennui—I don’t think so
Runnin’ from the grand ennui—yeah, baby”

Well, I reached in my pocket and I pulled out an omega
That was never one second behind
Maybe the horse I was runnin’ at the southern Talladega
Had won for the twenty-second time

Then the countess I was with
She leaned over with a kiss
And put a jeweled hand on my knee
I knew I’d lost the light
Movin’ through the night
Runnin’ from the grand ennui
Yeah, I’m runnin’ from the grand ennui
Had to get home

[break]

That night passed in a blaze of glory
With the countess and the car, both mine
Each day passes, it’s the same old story
’Cept this countess has a brand new line

Yet still at night
I’m haunted by the fright
And the distant memory
And the day I lost the light
Movin’ through the night
Runnin’ from the grand ennui—look out
Runnin’ from the grand ennui—in a panic
Runnin’ from the grand ennui

Mike: That’s it! Good night! Thank you! Enjoyed it! Had a good time, safe drive home.