Alpha Omega
Lyrics
On the morning you went away
The air was humid and the sky was gray
I had boiled peanuts for breakfast from Cairo, Georgia
The air was wet, my face was wetter
The pink flowers along the western window made me feel better
I turned the air conditioner on
Found the note on scented stationary - you were long gone[1]
I had boiled peanuts for breakfast from Cairo, Georgia
I popped the top off of the aluminum can
Let the brine slide down my fingers, man
It was warm, it was warm on my skin
But I felt the cold blast looming on in
I had boiled peanuts for breakfast from Cairo, Georgia
Banter
- I wanna fill you in on the conversation that's going on about the encore here. Peter [says] should we do Alpha Omega? Rockin' version? 'Cause there's one version I tend to prefer, it's the one on the record, it goes [plays quiet Alpha Omega guitar]. Very hard to play. The other version's easier to play but harder on the arm. But it's actually, in the tape that I should probably digitize before everything falls off it [ed: archivists wept, it's gone now], it's like the first song I ever played outside of southern California, and you can see that I am afraid that the five peoplewatching are going to leave, so I had better scorch their faces off while I have the chance. This is chronologically the last song in the alpha series, in which a person wakes up one morning and finds that their partner has just bailed. With no note, no nothing, no climax, just gone, not in the house anymore, and so he has a bowl of peanuts. (2013-06-05 - Maxwell's, Hoboken)
- This was the first song I ever played on tour. I have a video tape of that moment, but - archivists, cover your ears - the tape broke, it snagged, I had to cut it out of the VCR. But me being me, I like [unintelligible]. I still have the tape. There's probably five people in the world who can repair it. Every year, one less. 2022-05-21 The Sylvee (JD solo)
- UNTRANSCRIBED: 2023-12-02
Live Performances
Footnotes
1. "long gone" replaced with "goodbye John" (2013-06-05)