First Few Desperate Hours
Lyrics
Bad luck comes in from Tampa
Bad luck comes in from Tampa
On the back of a truck
Doing ninety up the interstate
We have bad dreams the night he rolls in
We have bad dreams the night he rolls in
And we try to keep our sprits high
But they flag and they wane
When the truck pulls up out front
In the light spring rain
And they sag like withering flowers
Let the good times roll on
Through these first few desperate hours
Yeah the driver drops his cargo at the curb
The driver drops his cargo at the curb
And the sun peeks in
Like a killer through the curtain
And when cloven hoof prints turn up in the garden
Yeah when cloven hoof prints turn up in the garden
We keep up the good fight
We keep our spirits light
But they draw like flies
And there's a stomach-churning shift
In the way the land lies
And they lean like towers
On a hillside struggling to stand
Through these first few desperate hours
Yeah
Banter
- This is a love song, about people who aren't in love anymore. Well yes, it is sad. And to combat the sadness, they've taken to drinking, I'm sorry to report. It helps them feel better sometimes. Other times it makes them feel bad. Unfortunately they learned that the only way to combat that bad feeling is to drink more. They've taken to drinking the cheap stuff. It tastes horrible and gives you awful headaches. (2004-10-11)
- You don't, in your actual life, get a postcard that says: "Congratulations. The whole ship is going down. You've probably seen it coming. But we, from the Ship-Going-Down Committee, have decided to send you this friendly reminder that your divorce is imminent." You don't get this kind of postcard. (2012-10-15)
- This is a song about a couple of people who shouldn't probably have gotten married in the first place. They did... and you were like, hey hey hey hey, it's always good to see you guys out around the town, cruising the bar and everything, but maybe getting married, not the best idea... and when you said it, they got really angry, and they were like, you know, 'Who are you to judge me?' They came out with a lot of that. So you were like, 'I'm not, you know, I'm not anybody to judge you, I'm not judging, I'm just singing, I've known you a long time.' And then they were like, 'You don't know me,' and you were like, 'Okay, I don't know you. Hey, cool. It's your lives, not mine.' Then they were like, 'Why you gotta be that way?'... and it ended badly, and you were like, 'I hope it goes well for them,' but it didn't, and you resist the urge to gloat. Inside you had a little bit of the gloat in you. As a matter of fact, I know that you did, because I saw it when the whole thing went down. (2012-12-17)
Live Performances
Footnotes