Bridges Burned & Other Such Disasters


© 2017 (ASCAP) James G. Long  – Black Eye Affair; all rights reserved, unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws; music & lyrics by James G. Long

 

This album is dedicated with love and gratitude to my one and only, my Laura Jean.

 

A very special thanks to the people whose contributions and support made this album possible: Adam Schreibfeder, Lindsay Kristel, Scott & Adri Long, Marvin & Loretta Long, William McCaslin, Nicole Duley, and the many other friends, family, and fans who helped along the way.

 

Jimmy Long – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, ukulele, lead vocals; Johnny “Z” Zimmerman – drums, percussion, bass, organ; Amanda Zimmerman – background vocals; Walker Gibson – lead guitar, mandolin, organ; Phillip Ganoung – piano; Marshall Dymowski – banjo; Collin Hill – violin. Produced and arranged by James G. Long and Johnny “Z” Zimmerman. Recorded and mixed by Johnny “Z” Zimmerman at Vibe Audio Recorders.

 


Lyrics

 

Sidewalk

He wears tennis shoes at midnight
And when the moment’s not right
He’s tearing down the down
A master of self-extradition
And at first sign of friction
He’s halfway ‘cross the floor

So when he calls to her and asks her if she’s tired
It doesn’t matter her reply
She says no, he hears go

So it’s off into the night with just the sound of footsteps falling on the sidewalk
To keep him company
It’s the tragedy of a travelling heart beating out a rhythm he can leave to
So he says with certainty:
It must be so, oh-oh

His Friday nights are never lonely
And Saturday there’s only
A hint of what’s to come
But Sunday comes with complication
And there’s no hesitation to chase the setting sun

So when he calls to her and asks her if she’s tired
It doesn’t matter her reply
She says no, he hears go

So it’s off into the night with just the sound of footsteps falling on the sidewalk
To keep him company
It’s the tragedy of a travelling heart beating out a rhythm he can leave to
So he says with certainty:
It must be so, oh-oh

 

Gone

I've been waiting for you to call me
But I know, that you wont
'Cause you can't even say my name

So I'll disconnect the phone
And wipe clean my memories
I'm gonna walk this world alone
And do away with subtlety
And I am..

Gone, like I never even happened
I am gone, like I never even happened
I am gone, like I never even happened
I'm gone

These days I stay clear of anyone I know
'Cause they see you on my face, and I can't take the sympathy

So I'll disconnect the phone
And wipe clean my memories
I'm gonna spend these nights alone
And lay to rest all subtlety
And I am..

Gone, like I never even happened
I am gone, like I never even happened
I am gone, like I never even happened
Like I never even happened, I'm gone
And I'll sing songs about us walking
Even though you've since sat down
I'll go right ahead with talking
Even though you're not around
I hear your voice inside my head
And it rings out like a bell
I wear the last thing that you said
You know, it fits me all too well

So I'll disconnect the phone
And wipe clean my memories
I'm gonna live this life alone
And put to deatht all subtlety
And I am..

Gone, like I never even happened
I am gone, like I never even happened
I am gone, like I never even happened

 

Ottawa

Paint me over in my sleep
Thirty million shades of green
Dreaming on the train, push me north
To Ottawa

Wake up screaming. Smell of tea
There’s no time left for flying
So you’re still there tied to your home
I’ll get there Tuesday and stay too long
I never told you I was leaving
And I was wrong

So lay them out on the tracks, and roll over my dreams
Send them back where they came from
Crush them paper-thin, like yesterday
I’ll send you more when I find some
In Ottawa

So burn the crops and salt the fields
‘Cause I’m not coming back
We burned our bridges a long time ago
Drowning in my thoughts I’m running from the sea
And I am the millstone around my own neck

So lay them out on the tracks, and roll over my dreams
Send them back where they came from
Crush them paper-thin, like yesterday
I’ll send you more when I find some
I’ll send you more when I find some
In Ottawa

 

Room Enough

Time stands against the constant battery
Of thoughts, songs, and lies
The constant noise of a thousand conversations
Hides behind a broken person
I cannot see how to live before
You count my scars

I could never walk alone
Long enough to fall
I thought I was the only one
With time to know it all
Time to know it all

A heart beats inside the closed hands of a girl
Who can't keep the time
The bitter pulse of an ocean's revolutions
Are buried by my sweet delusions
I cannot be anything before
She counts my scars
She counts my scars

I was never anyone
Before she came to town
I thought I was the only one
With room enough to drown
Room enough to drown

 

Sunburn

Forget about yourself, I’m lining up between the poles
We drink to mental health and lay the magnets out in rows
It’s almost over now, but I can wait to see the end
You interrupt the flow and send me spinning off the edge

Well I don’t know where the water will all flow, but I’m hoping I can be there when it stops
& it’s a private show filled with no one that you know. We’d talk now, but I’m running from the cops.

It’s just one big Saturday // It’s just one big Saturday 

I cut your lawn for cash & buy the number to phone
Daylight’s fading fast, but there’s something magic in the tone

We all know that come December they’ll be snow. So, for now I’m lying still here in the street
& the music’s loud but it chased away the clouds. I’ve got a nosebleed, and the taste is bittersweet
We’d talk now, but I’m running with bare feet.

It’s just one big Saturday // It’s just one big Saturday 
It’s just one big Saturday // It’s just one big Saturday 

 

You Should Know

If I could write out all the times that I was wrong I'd have the lines
To fill a song for every night, for the rest of both our lives
They'd be songs of tragedy and remedies, I'm on my knees
I'm singing you a melody that I hope makes you smile, so…

You should know by now
That I love
I will show you how girl
‘Cause my heart is true

So take my heart in both your hands, you'll be my girl I'll be your man
And I will help you understand. I'll do more than you think I can 
I'll always be right by your side making sure your smile is wide 
I'll hold you when it's cold outside and keep you safe and warm, so…

You should know by now
That I love
I will show you how girl
‘Cause my heart is true
Yes my heart is true

 

The Fix

We’ve been on this road 17 years and a day
We’re too far down it now to turn and walk the other way
You’ve got your medicine to chase your demons and the pain
A bottle full of friends to make the madness melt away
Remember when we said, “Only time will tell?” This is what she told me:
You’re living in your head. I guess it’s just as well. There’s no rest for the lonely

Don’t tell me there’s nothing left to lose. You’re giving up on you, and you are all I ever had
Don’t tell me you’re walking in your sleep. I’m watching you fall deep in love.
This potion fixes fast. This potion fixes fast.

The bourbon burns your throat to chase the rabbit down the hole
A bruised and broken heart replaced the memories you sold
You got your doctor’s note to raise you three times from the dead
Afraid to close your eyes and sink forever in your bed
Remember when we said, “Only time will tell?” This is what she told me:

Don’t tell me there’s nothing left to lose. You’re giving up on you, and you are all I ever had
Don’t tell me you’re walking in your sleep. I’m watching you fall deep in love.
This potion fixes fast. 
I saw you yesterday and you pretended not to know my face
But I saw memory dance across the corner of your mind and try to find that one unfailing grace
Don’t tell me there’s nothing left to lose. You’re giving up on you, and you are all I ever had
Don’t tell me you’re walking in your sleep. I’m watching you fall deep in love.
This potion fixes fast. This potion fixes fast.

 

Hourglass

Baby it might not be deception, but it sure aint the truth
Blame it on a bad connection, I’ll blame it your youth
But we’ve been down this road a time or two, and I know where it’s goin’
I aint askin’ you to tell the truth, but baby, pretend you know it

‘Cause we both know that the hourglass don’t leave the table
As each grain falls, I grow tired of just killing time
And we aint leavin’ alive

You think life’s an endless cavern, I’ll tell you the truth:
We aint groin’ old together, that’s something I won’t do
So go on and pick you dress for marrying. I’ll just wait right here
I’ll carve out the box for burying, and lay it six feet deep my dear

‘Cause we both know that the hourglass don’t leave the table
As each grain falls, I grow tire of just killing time
And we aint leavin’ alive
We both know that the hourglass don’t leave the table
As each grain falls, I grow tire of just killing time
And we aint leavin’ alive

 

Lucky Us

There was a time when I was a whole man 
And everyone knew me and called me by name
There was a face that I used to carry 
But it grew too heavy, so I laid it down
And I never gave up
No I never gave up – before now, before now

There is a song written by angels 
But it didn’t sit well with my troubled mind
There is a place I never remember
I leave here each December and never find home
And I never gave up
No I never gave up – before now, before now

Oh, aren’t you the lucky one?
Just three teeth shy of a perfect smile
And Oh aren’t I the lucky one?
Just three feet shy of a perfect mile

 

Doctor

Today I realized I'm not as good as I had hoped
I drank from mediocrity and I cannot clear me throat
You see, I've grown accustomed to the taste
And the way it fills my mouth
It's not bitter and it's never sweet
And I never spit it out
And I said...

No one ever gets this wrong
No one ever gets this wrong
But me

So I thank you for the pill, doctor
I feel better all the time
You see,it helps me to sit still with her
And it helps me clear my mind of all
The reasons I was leaving her
And all the times I cried
And so, I thank you for the pill, good sir
I feel better all the time
And she says...

No one ever gets this wrong
No one ever gets this wrong
She says no one ever gets this wrong but you
She says no one will ever hear this song
But you