Lyrics Live in Chicago - Mark Kozelek

Live in Chicago

Walked down Orange Avenue past a pizza shop
Walked down Magnolia Avenue past a couch and the Wawa trucks
Walked down Colonial past the 7-Elevens and the tattoo shops
Sunday morning downtown Orlando
Got into my taxi, he’s listening to Cardi B
Got into my taxi, it’s raining outside and it’s muggy
The air conditioning cracking and irritating my throat
Step back into the humidity, the air makes me choke
The show in Florida that night felt really good
Ben played piano beautifully and his drum machine went thoomp-thoomp-thoomp
My singing was stellar and the crowd was swooning to my croon
We played «Needles Disney» and the crowd lit up
That song got the loudest cheering
But when we played a song for the victims of the Orlando shooting
The room was quiet and I felt uncomfortable singing it
And for reminding them of the tragedy
Of what went so horribly wrong down there
But it went okay, I just wanted them to know that I cared
Afterwards, we drove past the Pulse nightclub
In the northern direction of Orange
Condos just behind it, quintessential suburban intersection
Dunkin Donuts on one corner, a Wendy’s on the other
A lone palm shooting up from the blacktop
On the other corner, an auto repair shop
Forty-nine succulents out front, a memorial to the fallen ones
That contrast with the beautiful Florida sun
And its laws supporting guns
When the people were killed there last June
I was up in the sky, on my flight from Bergen to Trondheim
See, I called my flight away from there
United Airlines Flight 441 to Chicago-O'Hare
Stayed up late that night, texting away and talking
Steaming my suit in the bathroom
I’m gonna look sharp tomorrow, like Christopher Walken in True Romance
Tried to call from the flight, beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep me up
Had tomatos at a Mediterranean restaurant
Got some oranges and bananas from the Walmart
Across the street there used to be a Ross, got scarves and hats there
In the winter, sentimental about this hotel
I’ve been staying here since I can remember
Waking up to garbage trucks this morning
Didn’t get enough sleep due to my dry cough
Many men have flirted with this hotel
And the ghosts visit me each time I’m here
The times I cried when I visited a granddaughter and to attend her memorial
They used to, shared a night here one song
The girl from Alabama who insisted
I take her for a nice dinner before we slept together, I said
«It's 1:30 in the morning and I don’t know a nice spot in Chicago
And I’m tired and it’s fucking cold»
She said, «Well, in the morning you must at least take me to a nice breakfast»
I said, «Well, in the morning I’ve got an early flight to catch to Dallas,
Texas»
She said, «Okay, as long as there’s a store near your hotel
Where I can at least get some beer»
«That works for me,» and then I watched her open Gideons' Bible
Through a reflection in the mirror
And nowadays during my stays, I call my girlfriend
And tell her how lonely I feel here
Nowadays I call my girlfriend and say «I love and I wish you were here»
Gonna sleep a few more hours
And grab my 3-pound dumbbells and do 30 minutes of shadowboxing
Ask the front desk if they can kindly print some lyrics for my show tonight
Well now I just got a phone call from my little sister
Tells me of a mass shooting in Las Vegas at a concert last night
And Tom Petty died at 66
How did I miss this news?
The TV’s been plugging sports all day
I met Mike and Steve from, we talked about
The shooting and Tom Petty and things regarding being middle-aged
I said, «Steve, I gotta be honest, I don’t know Tom Petty songs all that well»
He said, «There's a perfect one for you to sing tonight
It’s called 'Here Comes My Girl'»
I said, «I like that one so much better than 'Refugee'»
And I wrote the words down backstage sipping on my water
Next to a free tray of an assortment of cold cuts and cheeses
Great show last night but I got tired about 75% of the way through
Don’t remember feeling that tired back when I was playing shows in 1992
But I felt good in my suit and my brand new alligator-skin shoes
Everybody played those beautiful tunes
And the light man set a perfect blue cue
I played «Here Comes My Girl» from Tom Petty, it woke me up
I told them about how I saw Tom Petty playing with Tommy Tutone
When I was just a
I dedicated «Exodus» to the people who lost their lives in Las Vegas
A somber end to the show
That was the end of the concert, live in Chicago