See America Right
Lyrics
I was driving up from Tampa
When the radiator burst
I was three sheets to the wind
A civilian saw me first
And then there was the cop
And then the children standing on the corner
Your love is like a cyclone in a swamp
And the weather's getting warmer
I was getting out of jail
Heading to the Greyhound
You said you'd hop on one yourself
And meet me on the way down
I was shaking way too hard to think
Dead on my feet about to drop
Went and got the case of vodka from a car
And walked the two miles to the bus stop
Got on the bus half drunk again
The driver glared at me
Met up with you in Inglis
Thumbed a ride to Cedar Key
If we never make it back to California
I want you to know I love you
But my love is like a dark cloud full of rain
That's always right there up above you
Hey!
Banter
- This is a song about a coupla drunks trying to help each other out. But they don't know how to help each other out because their consciences are damaged. [in the background, Peter teaches Erin the chords, so she can absolutely rip on the guitar] They are not going to get better. People used to - we would play in clubs that didn't have a dressing room, and, like, a couple would come up to me in, say, South Carolina, and say, HEY ARE YOU THE SINGER? 'Hey, yeah, I'm the singer, good to meet ya.' 'WE'RE THE ALPHA COUPLE!' And they'd have a big ol' smile on their face. And I'd think, God, if this were a movie, in the 30s, a pre-technicolor movie, and I was Wallace Leary or somebody, and I could say, 'oh, let me draw your picture, and I want you to keep it and not look at it for seven months.' And then in seven months they'd look at the picture and see that it was actually what they looked like in seven more months of being the couple they think they are. This was an actual pair of people who I am 100% certain are not doing well today. And I dedicate this song to you, anonymous South Carolina Couple at the New Brooklyn Tavern, 2004. (2021-08-19 Gothic Theatre)
Live Performances
Footnotes