Liza Forever Minelli[1][2]
Lyrics
There's the part you've braced yourself
against and then[3]there's the other part
Steal[4] up inclining northward streets
with some weird sickness in the dark
Saw your name on the sidewalk[5]
saw your brave face in my mind[6]
If you're gonna sit next to the dealer
you get to[7] bet blind[8]
Never get away, never get away
I am never ever gonna get away
from this place
Lay down on the streets
my eyes toward the sun,
your star next to my face
The compasses I came into this world
with never really worked so good[9]
Gentle shadows spilling[10] down the hills
up on Mulholland at Ledgewood[11]
Turn back turn back,
find someone to tell your secrets to
Dream[12] past an old hotel on Ivar[13]
and seconds later I saw you
Never get away, never get away
I am never ever gonna get away
from this place
Lay down on the streets
my eyes toward the sun,
your star next to my face
Let the camera track me
from the footlights to the wings
Let me set aside an hour or two
in memory of sweet things
Regrind the lens again and again
and again and again
but still the picture flips
Anyone here mentions "Hotel California"[14]
dies before the first line
clears his lips
Never get away, never get away
I am never ever gonna get away
from this place
Lay down on the streets
my eyes toward the sun,
your star next to my face
Banter
- This is called Liza Forever Minelli, and it's a true story. (2011-03-11)
- [on the 'Hotel California' line] It's not that song, it's that that song is about me going back to California and remembering younger times. and, uh, if you have that experience in California, you, you harbor a little bit of resentment for the fact that that particular experience of, of nostalgia for a different time in California has sort of been branded with a great big 'E', right. (2011-03-30)
- It was written, uh, on a day when I was extraordinarily sick and had to leave tour while the rest of the people went ahead of me, and I had to sort of get my health together. It's about Liza Minnelli. (2018-04-21)
Live Performances
Footnotes
1. A demo version of Liza Forever Minnelli was released on All Survivors Pack. Accordingly, Liza Forever Minnelli is part of the informal series of demos. (Credit: Annotated TMG)↩
2. Liza Minnelli is the daughter of Judy Garland (sung about in The Autopsy Garland) and like her mother, an award-winning American actress and singer. (Credit: Annotated TMG)↩
3. "and then and then" repeated (2019-05-07)↩
4. "scale" (2010-05-16, 2011-05-11)↩
5. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles, California, where thousands of brass stars commemorate famous actresses and actors, musicians, directors, and other entertainment figures. Liza Minnelli's star is in front of 7028 Hollywood Boulevard. (Credit: Annotated TMG)↩
6. On the demo, John sings "saw your brave smile in my mind" ↩
7. On the demo and in some live performances, John sings "have to bet blind" (2010-05-16, 2011-05-11).↩
8. A blind bet is a forced bet made by players sitting to the left of the dealer in flop poker. Two blinds exist — the small blind, which is placed by the player directly to the dealer's left, and the big blind, which is placed by the player to the left of the small blind. When betting starts, the player to the left of both blinds begins, skipping both blinded players. The blinds prevent players from folding without betting and keeps tournament games limited to a shorter duration, as players with small stacks will be forced to remain in the game. (Credit: Annotated TMG)
In response to a question about this line, John replied: "I don't do lyrical parsing as a rule. It takes all the fun out of working out lyrics. If people are routinely getting something grievously wrong then I'll speak up from time to time, but nailing down meanings forever by saying "oh, here's what that means," no. A blind bet is a bet you are forced to make by virtue of your position at the table if you intend to stay in the hand. Beyond that you are on your own."
(tumblr)↩
9. "they never really worked so good" (2019-05-07)↩
10. "sliding" (2010-05-16, 2014-04-19)↩
11. Mulholland and Ledgewood are the streets immediately to the south of the Hollywood Sign. (Credit: Annotated TMG)↩
12. "I was dreaming past an old hotel" (2019-05-07)↩
13. Ivar Avenue is a north-south street in Los Angeles, which intersects Hollywood Boulevard on the eastern side of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (Credit: Annotated TMG)↩
14. Hotel California was a hit song by the Eagles in 1977. The song is about being seduced into life in Los Angeles and being unable to then escape it when the life turns nightmarish, using a surreal hotel as their metaphor. (Credit: Annotated TMG)↩