Lanyards

(álbum: Open Door Policy - 2021)

When you're stuck out in the middle
You just figure that there's something you're missing
But it turns out that California
Is just tripping and disinterested kissing

Back in my hometown
There was nothing but the hum of the locusts
And the rest of my life
To get used to being washed out of showbiz

I was down around the docks
But I never saw anyone surfing
From a distance it looked pretty much perfect
But it's different in person

The doctor said he only wants
To help me make more healthy decisions
Went out around the Fourth of July
And I was back by Thanksgiving

I danced around the subject
I swam in the Pacific
Like the westernmost American
Lanyards into laminates
Everybody's trying to get the right kind of wristband

Banging on the door again
She just wasn't answering
Showbiz is a struggle, man
Someone called an ambulance
Straightened out her necklace
And we sped to Good Samaritan

That girl from the Genesee Cleaners wasn't from there either
We sunk into the seats downtown at some second shot theater
She took me home to her place in a camper van behind some old warehouse
Said she couldn't come down and crash until we listened to 'Wipe Out'

Her character's cool
She's just dialing in her motivation
She's into new things
But she won't go to a second location

She's never gone deep
But she might make an exception for Shark Week
When they kicked in the door
They said, "That's way too much blood for a nosebleed"

Hospital security
Everybody needs to see the right color wristband
She said she had a meeting
I thought they were mistaken
But depression isn't kidding, man

The scene stuck in my head of her spread out on her bed
Like she's showing off her wingspan
I sat in heavy traffic
I drowned in the Pacific
Then I went back to the heartland

The doctor said he only wants
To help me make some better decisions
Went out around the Fourth of July
And I was back by Thanksgiving

I saw a few stars
But I never made it into a movie
Still trying to make moves
But I'm back in Independence, Missouri