{"id":4679,"date":"2018-11-05T09:27:55","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T15:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/?p=4679"},"modified":"2018-11-05T09:27:55","modified_gmt":"2018-11-05T15:27:55","slug":"lyrics-like-a-pair-of-nikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/2018\/11\/05\/lyrics-like-a-pair-of-nikes\/","title":{"rendered":"Lyrics like a Pair of Nikes."},"content":{"rendered":"

The comfortable, wear-around-the-house (even though your mom says not to) kind of Nikes. Palisades Park<\/em>, by Counting Crows-look them up or something, but you should know what Counting Crows is-anyway, this song they wrote is my absolute favorite, and has been for a long time now.<\/p>\n

It’s honestly hard to groove to, or get into as the entire song is an experience, and takes ten minutes to listen to. I know what you’re thinking, ten minutes?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, ten minutes. The song, in my opinion, could’ve been two hours long, and if it carried the story out as well as it did in those ten, then it would still be my favorite.<\/p>\n

I’m going to post the lyrics below, but you could never understand the magnitude of them without the music put with them:<\/p>\n

Somebody screamed and all of Jim Jeffries dreams<\/em>
\nExplode against a black fist<\/em>
\nHe falls to the floor<\/em>
\nHe stares up at the sky and he may wish he knew why<\/em>
\nBut he can\u2019t go back there no more<\/em>
\nFuture sounds so crazy<\/em>
\nWe\u2019ve all heard that song before<\/em>
\nTomorrow\u2019s the name we change from yesterday to blame<\/em>
\nWhen the train just don\u2019t stop here anymore<\/em>
\nI got starry-eyed on the coaster ride<\/em>
\nAndy says \u201cMan, I need a break from the world outside<\/em>
\nThese days my life just careens through a pinball machine<\/em>
\nI could do so much better but I can\u2019t get off the TILT\u201d<\/em>
\nThere\u2019s a photograph on the TV<\/em>
\nBlack and white and <\/em>
\nAndy says something to you <\/em>
\nJack Johnson straddling Reno, Nevada like <\/em>
\nShe says \u201cI forget myself sometimes too\u201d<\/em>
\nOut past the doorways where we are sleeping<\/em>
\nThe White Queens creep and the tomcats peep<\/em>
\nAnd now I\u2019m not breaking<\/em>
\nThe train\u2019s just shaking<\/em>
\nAnd I\u2019ve never made it here before<\/em>
\nThere\u2019s a Wild Mouse spinning the girls around<\/em>
\nTil they can\u2019t take it anymore<\/em>
\nI used to dream in the dark of Palisades Park<\/em>
\nUp over the cliffs and down among the sparks<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s a long life full of long nights<\/em>
\nBut it\u2019s not what I was waiting for<\/em>
\nEverybody\u2019s seen the horses diving down the shore<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s a miracle they don\u2019t make them anymore<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So\u2026\u201dMake up ladies\u201d\u2026Wake up baby<\/em>
\nYou walked into the bar like some Saturday star<\/em>
\nStud-straight on spiked heels and needles and nerves<\/em>
\nYou\u2019re a downtown pride fully-amplified Clyde<\/em>
\nGin-tight and aging but well-preserved<\/em><\/p>\n

Remember Andy standing outside your bedroom window<\/em>
\nSaying \u201cCome on, let\u2019s drive across to the Palisades<\/em>
\nKeep going til we hit Reno, Nevada\u201d<\/em>
\nDon\u2019t see Andy all that much these days<\/em>
\nStill there are pages in back of the Action stacks<\/em>
\nWhere the White Queens creep and the tomcats peep<\/em>
\nAnd the train\u2019s not braking<\/em>
\nThe track\u2019s just shaking<\/em>
\nAnd I never made it here before<\/em>
\nThere\u2019s a Sky Rocket turning the world around<\/em>
\nTil I can\u2019t take it anymore<\/em>
\nYou can carry that spark from Palisades Park<\/em>
\nDown over the cliffs and out into the dark<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s a long life full of long nights<\/em>
\nAnd it\u2019s not what I was looking for<\/em>
\nEverybody dreams of horses flying \u2018round the shore<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s a bad dream we\u2019re not having anymore<\/em>
\nMan, have you seen Andy?<\/em>
\nHey man, have you seen her around?<\/em>
\nHey man, have you seen my my my Andy?<\/em>
\nHey man, have you seen her?<\/em>
\nHave you seen him?<\/em>
\nHave you seen her?<\/em>
\nYou seen Andy around?<\/em>
\nDressed up in our pirate best<\/em>
\nAll leathers and feathers and pearls<\/em>
\nAndy said \u201cLook at me man!<\/em>
\nI am cookin\u2019<\/em>
\nThese hands could finger up this whole world!\u201d<\/em>
\nHe says \u201cCome outside<\/em>
\nClimb out your bedroom window<\/em>
\nShimmy down the fire escape<\/em>
\nAnd say goodbye\u201d<\/em>
\nCome outside<\/em>
\nAndy says \u201cI\u2019m dressed up just like Edie<\/em>
\nChanging all the time<\/em>
\nThese leopard spots to polka dots<\/em>
\nAnd say goodbye\u201d<\/em>
\nCome outside<\/em>
\nMaybe we could move to California<\/em>
\nJust meet me at the subway<\/em>
\nAnd say goodbye<\/em>
\nCome outside<\/em>
\nThe cops all think we\u2019re crazy<\/em>
\nBut if you stay, you\u2019ll just get married <\/em>
\nTo a girl who\u2019ll never know you<\/em>
\nAnd then say goodbye<\/em>
\nHey Man, have you seen Andy? <\/em>
\nI lost her in the sun<\/em>
\nI was high as a kite on Lovely & White<\/em>
\nMan, you could lose anyone<\/em>
\nHey man, have you seen Andy<\/em>
\nI don\u2019t know where he\u2019s gone<\/em>
\nReal love outlives teenage lust<\/em>
\nWe could get wet and it keeps us warm<\/em>
\nLove is like Angel Dust<\/em>
\nLovely sometimes changes us\u2026sometimes not<\/em>
\nHave you been aching to trust or just\u2026?<\/em>
\nHave you been waking yourself with lust\u2026?<\/em>
\nHave you been making us up or just taking us home?<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s a long wait at a long light<\/em>
\nCars frozen in flight<\/em>
\nAll the traffic stops to stare<\/em>
\nAt a crosswalk in Reno, Nevada<\/em>
\nWearing nothing but air<\/em>
\nAnd a pair of grey paper wings <\/em>
\nAndy thinks \u201cI got nothing to wear\u201d<\/em>
\nWe got nothing new and\u2026<\/em>
\nWe got nothing to wear\u2026(2x)<\/em><\/p>\n

In my perspective of the story, and after watching the video, I take away from this song the story of two young boys, living life in the 70\/80’s, and just, completely blowing it, and coming to terms with their youth and their life not yet lived.<\/p>\n

In the song, the story of Andy’s sexuality is explored, and in a way that moves with the music. Drugs, alcohol, and sex are also underlined themes in this song, and it really gives off a strange vibe for me every time I hear it.<\/p>\n

The opening lines are a reference to boxer Jim Jeffries’ famous fight that happened in the seventies, and how he was knocked unconcious. I liked that this was the opening line, and that his blackout was further compared to life itself; a really clear picture\u00a0 was painted through this.<\/p>\n

My favorite lines are:<\/p>\n

Man, you could lose anyone<\/em>
\nHey man, have you seen Andy<\/em>
\nI don\u2019t know where he\u2019s gone<\/em>
\nReal love outlives teenage lust<\/em>
\nWe could get wet and it keeps us warm<\/em>
\nLove is like Angel Dust<\/em>
\nLovely sometimes changes us\u2026sometimes not<\/em>
\nHave you been aching to trust or just\u2026?<\/em>
\nHave you been waking yourself with lust\u2026?<\/em>
\nHave you been making us up or just taking us home?<\/em><\/p>\n

I feel as though these lines really embodied what Adam Duritz (the guy in the band writing this incredible stuff) wanted to evoke from the song.<\/p>\n

These lyrics were an exploration in discovering yourself, and falling in love with life and the things in it.<\/p>\n

Palisades Park is an abandoned amusement park that used to operate in Reno, Nevada. This setting for the pieces encapsulates the idea of loss over time passing, not only of special places but of people, to many things that enter our life as we grow and change.<\/p>\n

Anyway, love this song, and this band, and this idea. Really makes me want to be a lyricist and try to top this.<\/p>\n

(Also, I do not care that this is 90’s dad-rock, it is still The Best Band and Music known to Man. Don’t knock it ’til you try it.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The comfortable, wear-around-the-house (even though your mom says not to) kind of Nikes. Palisades Park, by Counting Crows-look them up or something, but you should know what Counting Crows is-anyway, this song they wrote is my absolute favorite, and has been for a long time now. It’s honestly hard to groove to, or get into … Continue reading “Lyrics like a Pair of Nikes.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4679"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4679"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4693,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4679\/revisions\/4693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.msabrookhaven.org\/literary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}