Paid in Cocaine

Lyrics

Crusty boots in the corner of the closet by the tackle box
Once-proud shining silver buckles safe behind the normalcy locks
Baubles and bangles
A lost age
Still all aglow with the radiance of the stage
That's who I was
This is who I am
Work to pay down the interest on the mortgage
Used to get paid by the gram

Long Beach
Long Beach, can you hear me?
Can you hear me, Long Beach?
Long Beach
Long Beach, can you hear me?
Can you hear me, Long Beach?

Master tape from the show we did at Fender's back in '85
Dark paisley from Retail Slut
All four of us still fresh and alive
Flashes and phosphenes
It's hard to believe that's me
Strapped in, visibly sweating
As happy as I'm ever gonna be
You're by my side
Five years left on your card
You're cashing out, all dressed up
For your date with the emergency ward

Long Beach
Long Beach, can you hear me?
Can you hear me, Long Beach?
Long Beach
Long Beach, can you hear me?
Can you hear me, Long Beach?

Banter

• "This is a song about a club in Long Beach, California, lot of people from Long Beach here tonight, where rumor had it, you could come all the way from say, Switzerland, and be in a tour bus and really really trying to pay off that bus. And you get back to the office after you played a show. You might be a band called Celtic Frost, you might have opened for Usurper, and it might have been a really spectacular show. You might have gone back to the office and said, 'Can we have our $500 guarantee now,' and the guy might have said, 'I don't have your $500, but I have an 8-ball.' And you or your tour manager might have said 'No, we really need the $500, it costs a lot of money to get the three of us over from Switzerland, do you have any idea?' and he goes, 'yeah, I sympathize with your case, I have an 8 ball, and that's all I've got.' And apparently that's how it would work at Fender's." (2017-11-12 Brooklyn Steel)

Live Performances

• 2017-11-12 Brooklyn Steel

Footnotes