hey, that's no way to say goodbye

MP3: Goodbye to Summer (Version) (3.9 mb)

Two goodbye songs in one month, hooda thunk? Summer deserves a send-off as well, and despite the big ugly mess it was on the Jersey Shoreline CD, I always liked this song for some reason and so decided to give a shot at re-mixing it to see if it might be more presentable. It's still a bit of a mess, but I have no shame....


GOODBYE TO SUMMER

I remember the waves on the beach
How they knocked me over
Like the miracle strip with the sand in your suit
Swimming time for you is over

Goodbye to Summer
Say it isn't so
Slacks and umbrellas
Summer has to go
It has to go

All the jellyfish on the sand
Like clear blue piles of dogshit
And the shrimp in the beer and the snake in the box
Uncle Monster lurking somewhere

Where's your choice for sleeping tonight?
By the open ocean window
There's the smell of the house
We were all in the shower
We all knew each other well then

Goodbye to Summer
Say it isn't so
Rep ties and blue blazers
Summer has to go
It has to go


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draggin' the line

MP3: Goodbye Old Maple (6.1 mb)

A few weeks ago, we had to take down one of the old maple trees, the one by the patio. It was a siamese twin of a tree at one time, its counterpart having been removed a few years back due to the illness which finally invaded this one. Like most any living thing, it was a source of much delight and much frustration: a great shade provider for us on summer hot days and a tarp of sorts against the rain when running across the patio, but it also littered the place with little helicopter leaves that stained the bricks and there was increasing danger of branches falling onto the casa. It was also very beautiful, but made a nice bridge for renegade raccoons - like the one(s) I mentioned in July - to find their way into our space.

Well the other afternoon at dusk Kate & I were out there looking up at the sky, and she mentioned how nice it was to be able to see it so vastly now without the foliage blocking the view. She was also glad there was no longer a "highway for the raccoons" to make their way into the attic. But we were both a little sad too that the tree was no longer there, majestically and kind as it had been for so long.

I never thought, "there's a song in all this" (why would I?), there just was one. I think it sprang from the desire to somehow honor that gone maple tree before we got used to its absence and went about our days as though it was never there.

Now, I'm no tree-hugger, but when I was younger I thought Magnolia You Sweet Thing was a love song to a tree, and I didn't find anything odd about that at all.


GOODBYE OLD MAPLE

It's good to see the sky on a dusky afternoon
And there's no highway for the raccoon
And there are no helicopters crashing in our yard

We thought the sun might burn us away
But it's been a cool Summer
So we're doin' fine
And in Fall when rain comes around
I'll miss the shelter that kept me from drowning

So goodbye old maple tree
You always had a plot for my baby & me
Goodbye old maple tree
You really meant a lot to my baby & me

Goodbye sweet maple tree
You really meant a lot to my baby & me
Goodbye old maple tree
You always had a thought from my baby & me
Goodbye old maple tree
You really meant a lot to my baby & me
Goodbye old maple tree
You always had a plot for my baby & me
Goodbye old maple tree


RECENT ENJOYMENTS
Book: Kaleidoscope Eyes: Psychedelic Rock from the '60s to the '90s
Music: Condition Blue by The Jazz Butcher
Film: Nico Icon

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