Music Monday - Take VI

Fuck, it's Wednesday


I wrote this one last fall (2011) whilst hungover the morning after a craw-fish boil. Half of the lyrics came unbidden within the first hour of waking and I scrambled to get them down in a notebook as I groped around my kitchen for hashbrowns. I fleshed out the missing verses over the course of that day, and by the next day I had found all of the chords that matched the melody I'd been forming. By April I started playing it comfortably on the concertina, and in June I got around to recording it with Keith Bracy (whom I mentioned two weeks ago). He's still working on the EQ, so I apologize for the still-perceptible lack of a pop screen.

Here are the lyrics:

___________________________

Have you ever awoken from nothing--
Not a dream, nor the memory of going to bed?
You pounded your drink, but the moment you blinked,
the toilet was supporting your head.

How often do you wake up from nothing?
A dumbfounding, liquor-inspired blank slate.
Sprawled out you stall, as you begrudgingly recall
the life's worth of bullshit you tried to escape.

God, I hate waking from nothing.
The sting of reality's the worst kind of pain.
My body's intact, but I need to extract
the brick that's in place of my brain.

Have you ever awoken to no one?
We all have at some point in our lonely lives,
but the longer you wait, you'll seal your fate--
it's hard to get lucky when you're 65.

How often do you wake up to no one?
The vacant spot next to you hurts now and then,
but the deep-seated yearning can be quashed by returning
to the bars to forget once again.

Good God, I hate waking to no one.
No one has pity or ears they can lend.
My houseplants are great, but they won't get me laid.
This bottle of Tanqueray's my only friend.

Last night will remain an enigma.
There's no note or a single reminder in sight;
just this flippant erection, and no recollection
of events that transpired last night.

But you're here asleep right beside me;
Your eyelids are fluttering; you're wrinkling your nose.
It's warming my heart, but it gave me a start
when I woke to discover I was wearing your clothes.

But I'd rather wake up from nothing
than to ever wake up to no one.
If my liver is shot and my mind's been erased
at least I woke up to your face.

'Cause, I'd rather wake up from nothing
than to ever wake up to no one.
You're my saving grace, I hope you feel the same.
So tell me babe: what is your name?