Thursday, September 4, 2008

James McMurtry Knows

He knows things the St. Paul gang o' warmongering nostalgia merchants apparently don't. From his "St.-Mary-of-the-Woods" album:

They broke into your car last night,
took the stereo
Now you say you don't know why
you even live there anymore
The garage man didn't see a thing,
so you guess it was an inside job
You made a reservation, a table for three
They said you'd have to wait,
somebody must have bribed the maitre'd
Boss got mad and he blamed it all on you
Food was bad and the deal fell through
(chorus)
Well out here in the middle
you can park it on the street
Step up to the counter;
you nearly always get a seat
Nobody steals. Nobody cheats
Wish you were here my love
Wish you here my love

We got tractor pulls and Red Man chew Corporate relo refugees that need love too
we ain't seen Elvis in a year or two
we got justification for wealth and greed~
Amber waves of grain and bathtub speed
We even got Starbucks
what else you need?

(chorus)
Out here in the middle
Where the center's on the right
And the ghost of William Jennings Bryan preaches every night
To save the lonely souls
in the dashboard lights
Wish you were here my love
Wish you were here my love

(chorus)
Out here in the middle
Where the buffalo roam
We're putting up towers for your cell phones
And we screen all applicants
With a fine tooth comb
Wish you were here my love
Wish you were here my love

All that small town shtick ain't much to pin your dreams on. I live in one. I know what James knows.

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