1. |
the things you like
03:49
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wake up in the afternoon
the day might get away from you
if you're not quick.
another day of doing nothing
probably would be enough
to make you sick.
but why should I get up
and have more time to kill?
another hour's just another
hole to fill.
but you get up anyway
you make yourself some breakfast
and you go outside.
you try to do the things you like.
take the train from Forest Hills
to Massachusetts Avenue
and feel okay.
you plan to meet a friend there
and you know that's the kind of thing
that keeps you sane.
but why do I need people
to feel like myself?
I'm not like some book that you
pull off the shelf.
"entering mass ave," says the
voice that you have surely heard a thousand times.
get off the train and do the things you like.
meet your friend for dinner
and the second thing you tell her's
that you feel depressed.
you didn't want to say it ‘cause
you're trying to make your friends
your therapists.
"so never mind enough about me
how are you?
I know talking about myself
is all I do."
she shakes her head and says it's fine
and gazes at the menu
while you wait in line
and she asks you is there something there you like?
make your way back home
and you know that means you'll
have some time to be alone.
you could read a book or self reflect
or wash the dishes but you're
on your phone
searching through the Internet
for true love
A thousand flashing faces and the
swipe of a thumb.
fall asleep and dream about
the sex you really want to have
in real life
or dream about the other things you like.
try to do the things you like.
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2. |
the reunion
03:13
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so we meet again
and we shoot the breeze
with shaky knees
talking just as friends
and you, you haven’t changed
the words come out
of a familiar mouth
it all still sounds the same
but I can tell there’s so much
that you won’t tell me
about the life that you
can live without me
so we speak carefully
about this and that
as though we never had
a common memory
but what is there to say
when you can tell
I’m not doing well
by what’s written in my face
‘cause I can tell there’s so much
that you won’t tell me
about the life that you
can live without me
then we say goodbye
with our eyes cast down
looking at the ground
as though someone had died
and if we meet again
I’m sure that I
will be the one to find
a reason to be friends
and someday you know you’ll
have to tell me
about the life that you
can live without me
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3. |
the birthday song
04:03
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If there’s a day of the year
that I sincerely fear
it’s the anniversary
of the day that I appeared
out of nothing
well I was warm and wet
and without regret
but now my birthday is a day
that I’d just like to forget
without hugging
so cut up the cake
blow out the candles
this is a special day
to be someone
and look at your friends
they’re happy to see you
now that you’ve made
another trip around the sun
and if I had my way
then there’d be nothing to say
but still my friends insist
that I should cherish the day
instead of brooding
but a homemade meal
can’t change the way I feel
about watching my life go by
like the tape on the reel
of a movie
so cut up the cake
blow out the candles
this is a special day
to be someone
and look at your friends
they’re happy to see you
now that you’ve made
another trip around the sun
and if my celebration
is a yearly date then
I deserve to know exactly
just how long I should wait
to be dying
if it’s a viral disease
or a chemical breeze
that kills me, I don’t mind it
just as long as it sees
that I am trying
so cut up the cake
blow out the candles
this is a special day
to be someone
and look at your friends
they’re happy to see you
now that you’ve made
another trip around the sun
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4. |
the exchange
04:25
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picture me somewhere nice and warm
a small café that I’ve been to before
all the same
nothing changed
still alone
I sit down and look out across the room
and there you are. No one’s there with you
you check you’re phone
and sip your cup
and get your coat
then you’re gone
now picture me laying in bed at night
wide awake, but I don’t know why
but soon enough
I start to drift
and fall asleep
but in my mind, I’m acting in a play
as myself reliving yesterday
and there you are
the same café
we almost meet
but it’s a dream
now picture me waiting in a checkout aisle
watching you and you’ve been there a while
so I smile
and so do you
the line moves on
but it’s your turn to buy the things you want to buy
an exchange is made while I feel dead inside
‘cause all I want
to do is talk
and make a friend
but then you’re gone
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5. |
randall
03:42
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Randall
Randall, half-man,
half-superstition
lived in a castle as tall as the sky
and while the world was burning
Randall took to learning
from some books that told him
how to live and die.
and he said,
“I can see the waters rising,
but I just gotta do what’s right for me
and I know this worlds gonna drown,
but when the waters reach this town
I’ll be the king of the sea
“'cause when I get to heaven
St. Peter’s gonna call my name
and say ‘Randall, you sure are clever!
you know I woulda done the same!’
he’s gonna take me by the hand
and let me be God’s right-hand man
In a heaven where there’s no one to blame.”
now Randall owned a thousand busts
of every man that he’d ever trust
and he watched them from morning until night
and without a world to see
Randal rewrote history
as the struggle of a man that’s always right
and he said,
“I can see those waters rising,
but I’m sure the people know how to row
and I know this worlds a gonna drown,
but when the waters reach this town
I’ll be the last one to go
“'cause when I get to heaven
St. Peter’s gonna call my name
and say ‘Randall, you sure are clever!
you know I woulda done the same!’
he’s gonna take me by the hand
and let me be God’s right-hand man
in a heaven where there’s no one to blame.”
now Randall died alone
a starving sack of skin and bones
decaying in the comfort of his bed
and after a long wait
he finally got to those pearly gates
now this is what old St. Peter said.
“well Randall,
we’ve been watching you for some time
now I though your castle would just sink
and I know you’re religious man
but I gotta say I’m not a fan.
oh Randall did you really think
“that when you got to heaven
I was really gonna call your name
and say, ‘Randall you sure are clever!’
cause I never woulda done the same
I wouldn’t take you to purgatory
you’ll go on to hell that’s the end of story
in heaven there’s no one to blame
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6. |
let it all go
05:16
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good morning, it’s Sunday
holy Sunday
you had too much to drink
see the morning light
and all the pieces of Saturday night
but oh, it hurts you to even blink
feel the weight of your head
and feel all the sweat that’s coating your bed
and lay there still until you have had enough
now go downstairs and go to the kitchen
and wash down the taste of Jameson
with a glass of water that’s cool to the touch
now drink it slowly and drink it with care
‘cause when you drink it you become aware
that you are going to throw up
and it’s not the first bad morning you’ve had
but something about this one is making you sad
as you feel the acid splashing in your gut
well maybe it’s the promise you made
to yourself. You said that you would stay away
from alcohol or at least for a while
or maybe it’s because you’re all alone
with your head on the table with a broken phone
or maybe it’s just been too long since you cried
when you were sixteen
you drank your parents’ liquor and you smoked too much weed
but somehow you were as happy as you could be
but look at you now
with your head on the table with a drippy mouth
you don’t feel so serene
but you start to stand up slowly
‘cause you know that the only way
to feel better is to let it all go
so enter the bathroom door
lift up the toilet seat and get on the floor
open your mouth and just let it all go
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7. |
22 years
02:22
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you know, after 22 years
I have learned a thing or two
about being sad.
but when you call to comfort me
I think how lucky I must be
cause you are the best friend
that I have ever had.
and after all these 22 years
I have learned that it gets better
slowly over time.
but if I start to doubt myself
or if I need some help
I know you’ll be there by my side.
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Sam Talmadge Boston, Massachusetts
Guitar player based in Brooklyn
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