Landlocked Blues

The following is a recent favourite of mine, a video of song in which I will be writing about.



Bright Eyes | Landlocked Blues

Lyrics:

If you walk away, I'll walk away
First tell me which road you will take
I don't want to risk our paths crossing someday
So you walk that way, I'll walk this way

And the future hangs over heads
And it moves with each current event
Until it falls all around like a cold, steady rain
Just stay in when it's looking this way

And the moon's laying low in the sky
Forcing everything metal to shine
And the sidewalk holds diamonds like a jewelry store case
They argue, walk this way, no, walk this way

And Laura's asleep in my bed
As I'm leaving, she wakes up and says
"I dreamed you were carried away on the crest of a wave
Baby, don't go away, come here"

And there's kids playing guns in the street
And one's pointing his tree branch at me
And so I put my hands up, I say, "Enough is enough
If you walk away, I'll walk away"

And he shot me dead

I found a liquid cure from my landlocked blues
It would pass the way like a slow parade
It's leaving, but I don't know how soon

And the world's got me dizzy again
You think after twenty-two years I'd be used to the spin
And it only feels worse when I stay in one place
So I'm always pacing around or walking away

I keep drinking the ink from my pen
And I'm balancing history books up on my head
But it all boils down to one quotable phrase
"If you love something, give it away"

A good woman will pick you apart
A box full of suggestions for your possible heart
But you may be offended, and you may be afraid
But don't walk away, don't walk away

We made love on the living room floor
With the noise in the background from a televised war
And in that deafening pleasure, I thought I heard someone say
"If we walk away, they walk away"

But greed is a bottomless pit
And our freedom's a joke, we're just taking a piss
And the whole world must watch the sad comic display
If you're still free, start running away

Because we're coming for you!

I've grown tired of holding this pose
I feel more like a stranger each time I come home
So I'm making a deal with the devils of fame
Saying, "Let me walk away, please"

You'll be free, child, once you have died
From the shackles of language and measurable time
And then we can trade places, play musical graves
Until then walk away, walk away, walk away

So I'm up at dawn
Putting on my shoes
I just want to make a clean escape
I'm leaving, but I dont know where to
I know I'm leaving, but I dont know where to


A typical Bright Eyes song, hitting you where it hurts. Conor Oberst, the puppetmaster of Bright Eyes, has the uncanny ability to write the most depressing lyrics possible, and sing them in the most depressing way. That says a lot about an artist though, to be able to capture emotion of your audience lyrically and also musically.

The thing with writing is that it oddly enough can be compared to a bottle of ketchup. Sometimes, the words come with ease and flow beautifully, however, other times theres that blockage that requires extreme patience. Regardless of the troubles or ease you experience, you're not always left with something you're particulary happy with, and then you reach a point where you've exhausted your creative and there isn't much you can do to improve. For that I reason, I always respect a good poet, lyrist or writer.

I've loved this song for quite some time, and I could easily say I listen to it 40% of the time when I'm listening to music as of late. The simplicity is so welcoming and personal despite the bitter feelings it may develop, it surely does evoke emotion. I love meanigful lyrics, even if they don't mean anything to the artist, at least I can draw some sort of conclusions from them, and enjoy my delusions.

Anyways, enough my ramblings. I believe that shall do it for my blog entry.
Thanks for reading :)

-Van