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Elyria

by Billy Simons Jr.

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1.
Elyria 04:44
He was already gone by the time she heard the radio saying what he’d done On his own, on the run in the back of any pickup truck driving towards the sun And no he could not criticize her but he could never understand How she could soon forget so easily Like a two ton bomb across his back He was hit by every word And fallout soon became their history He says “Elyria, won’t you call my name out loud?” “Elyria, won’t you call my name out loud?” Past the night, through the cold all the smokestacks and the factories did as they were told And she was right and he a fool, and it was easier to let him go with something else to hold And no he could not criticize her but he could never understand How she could soon forget so easily Like a two ton bomb across his back He was hit by every word And fallout soon became their history He says “Elyria, won’t you call my name out loud?” “Elyria, won’t you call my name out loud?”
2.
Tequila Bar 03:37
One stop he’s shopping around at this tequila bar His eyes are roaming and they’re bloodshot Who did she meet for the evening Midnight the heat in the air’s feeling alright The sweat on her back in the lowlight The sound of her silently breathing Dreaming and thinking up pictures in his mind Drinking to forget the good times Watching the light as it bends One scar bleeding the life from his system Feeling the pulse of her rhythm True love was never his friend It’s all wrong, the radio sings out a love song He suddenly forgets her problems Imagining all her perfection Shut down, gets on the road that’s going uptown Parks on her block during a breakdown Why won’t she answer, he’s calling Dreaming and thinking up pictures in his mind Drinking to forget the good times Watching the light as it bends One scar bleeding the life from his system Feeling the pulse of her rhythm True love was never his friend What a deadbeat, the smell of the bar in the front seat Awake to the sounds of the morning He’s never felt so alone Steps out, fixes his hair as he looks round But can’t find a sign of her car now Looks like she never came home Dreaming and thinking up pictures in his mind Drinking to forget the good times Watching the light as it bends One scar bleeding the life from his system Feeling the pulse of her rhythm True love was never his friend
3.
I'm going out to Mendocino, I'm going down to Mexico All along the cliffs on 66 til there is nowhere left to go And with your neon lights behind me Good lord I'm gonna miss you So when I leave this town I'll lay you down I'll tuck you in and kiss you oh Goodnight, New York, Goodnight We got oh so many problems, I've got only so much time And no we can't go back to the life we had, there ain't no use in trying I got a suitcase full of these memories That I'm sure to take for granted But when I'm on the road they'll bring me home And give me all the answers so Goodnight, New York, Goodnight I've been up to see the sunrise when it floods the Bowery And the homeless roam the streets they own, with the men selling magazines And I can feel the city sleeping Through the pavement at my feet In my loneliness there's a holiness and a time for discovery I've been up so many late nights, taking down so many drinks While lighting fires I'm growing tired wondering why I am still awake And when the guitars play behind me you know the carnival goes on I'm just a witness to the madness and I'm glad it never stops Goodnight, New York, Goodnight And down an old dirt road full of promises there's a mountain of regret And you can't call it forgiveness if it's just that you forget And it seems if I was never scared I couldn't call it brave And if I don't go after all my dreams, someone else just may Goodnight, New York, Goodnight
4.
He was only a man off to war With nothing to lose and nothing worth more He set sail for a life of his own That cold December In the night he left letters to god By the side of the road should he pass through this town And though the telephone rang until dawn He wouldn’t answer he just wrote: It’s the end of the road it’s the start of the sea If I’m out of mind my well that’s alright with me My life’s in the ocean I‘ve finally found My heart’s in a place that would make momma proud I woke up this morning a man who will fight To be born again well you first have to try I’ve polished my shoes since I’ve miles to go And I’ll see you again real soon Past the end of the road When he’d served through the youth of his age Well the medals they tied to him anchored his shame And the rest of his life had gone by All in a moment He was more than a child of the war With the longing desire for the life lived before All the letters he wrote as a boy He found in the basement It’s the end of the road it’s the start of the sea If I’m out of mind my well that’s alright with me My life’s in the ocean I‘ve finally found My heart’s in a place that would make momma proud I woke up this morning a man who will fight To be born again well you first have to try I’ve polished my shoes since I’ve miles to go And I’ll see you again real soon Past the end of the road When the cold took him out to the tide And he walked towards the darkness with his brothers in sight He was only a child of the war In search of deliverance It’s the end of the road it’s the start of the sea If I’m out of mind my well that’s alright with me My life’s in the ocean with all of my friends My heart’s in a place that I’d rather forget I woke up this morning a man I despise To be born again well you first have to die I’ve polished my shoes since I’ve miles to go And I’ll see you again real soon Past the end of the road
5.
I will hold you When you’re down and confused And you feel like the world Has just turned on you I will hold you When you think you’re alone And there’s nowhere to turn And no place to call home I will hold you One thing on my mind To have you for myself For one moment in time I will hold you I will play the good friend I will dry all your tears As a means to an end And I’ll hold you I will make you feel strong Then you won’t have a clue That your feelings are wrong I will hold you I will make you feel safe Til I get what I want I will lie to your face So when I told ya “Do what’s best for you” Why wouldn’t you think That’s just what I’d do?
6.
Pull through, a soggy walk to work in the sideways rain The bus stops and bodegas a sad refrain The young in love upstairs kept him up again “Hey you,” a lonely voice rejoices from underground Calling the lost with the word that they might be found Feeling the rain in his shoes as he moves along And he thinks… I, I’m still in love with you High noon, he waits for the sound of the ring but the call won’t come Pictures of her on the desk, guessing, going, gone Replays and revisions across his tongue Someday soon, he’ll take the flight just like she had asked him to Leave behind a world worth letting go Maybe tomorrow, maybe tomorrow And he thinks… I, I’m still in love with you
7.
The book of love is long and boring No one can lift the damn thing It's full of charts and facts and figures And instruction for dancing But I, I love it when you read to me And you, you can read me anything The book of love has music in it In fact that's where music comes from Some of it is just transcendental Some of it is just really dumb But I, I love it when you sing to me And you, you can sing me anything The book of love is long and boring And written very long ago It's full of flowers and heart shaped boxes And things we're all too young to know But I, I love it when you give me things And you, you ought to give me wedding rings

about

From August through November, I traveled around the country with my guitar. After four weeks on the road and sleeping in my car, I met an amazing community of people in San Francisco, holed up in their home and wrote a handful of songs. Here are some of my favorites.

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credits

released December 18, 2010

All songs by Billy Simons, except Song 9 by Billy Simons and David Stillman
Produced and engineered by David Stillman and Billy Simons
Mixed by David Stillman
Fugitive Sounds, Los Angeles California
October 2010

Cover art by James Walker

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Billy Simons Jr. Atlanta, Georgia

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