Friday, October 8, 2010

Well Wishing

Sixteenth Street, an asbestos shack
Always has enough for this all night game
By the eyes of my customers, they're coming back
Nothing else can help them to ease their pain

And I, walk that plank of shame
As I, say, "Please, come again."
I walk that plank of shame

Always had a thing for the easy load
Trimmed all my possesions to this jet black frame
And tonight while I rumble on the open road
My daughter ships out to the fiery gates

And I, walk that plank of shame
As I, pray for her again.
I walk that plank of shame.

My little boy you're bundled to your daddy's hopes
Waiting to be watered by the future's rain
Though the doctors words were a terrible blow
They were nothing like the look upon our neighbors face

And I, walk that plank of shame
As they, walk their kids away,
I walk that plank of shame

Sixteenth Street, an asbestos shack
Always has enough for this all night game
By the eyes of my customers, they're coming back
Nothing else can help them to ease their pain

And I, walk that plank of shame
As I, say, "Please, come again,"
I walk that plank of shame

6 comments:

Anders Enochsson said...

A wonderful poem; it has a kind of dark quality. I guess it could also be sung. Hope all is well.

jbkrost said...

it like "Blade Runner" meets "20,000 leagues under the sea" very interesting
good work!

Unknown said...

Thanks Ande

It's fine to be around here again. What a fun place. This is, in fact a song I wrote to a chord progression I stole from Dwight Yokam's song, "1000 mile from nowhere." It's a great song I was introduced to by a Nic Cage movie from the 1990's called Red Rock West. The chord progression has been used a thousand places in pop music: C, A-, C, F, G. Haunting stuff for someone who sings before he writes.
So good to see your words again, my friend.

Unknown said...

J.B.Krost,
I liked your comment so much, since I have a very strong idea about what the song means, but was laughing with a guy in our band, AJ, that it ain't likely that anyone is going to agree with my interpretation. Guess that's what it's like to be God in the Garden, eh?

Jeremy Blomberg said...

nice song...makes me think of an emotional POV of an H dealer or something along those lines

Unknown said...

Well, Jeremy

You are pretty close to the original there. Not that I care one way or the other (and rather enjoy whatever it inspires.) But, yes, one of the scenes in the song involve a dealer, but he's legal, (except through the night, where I used to live in the ghetto of Indianapolis.) He's a seller of alcohol. In the next scene the character is simply a divorced drifter who has a wonderful, poor, daughter who joined the military to go to school. I imagine her on her way to Iraq or Afghanistan, or what have you. The open road, bekons less romantically when your lovely daughter is flying into that. And the last scene has the parents of a child whom they love as they might love no other, but whom the world would rather not see at all. The complexity of all these scenes together reflect not terribly differently the moral and ethical landscape, and pathos, of a dealer in almost anything strong, and desirable.
Thanks...