I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
While the music played, you worked by candlelight
Those San Francisco nights
You were the best in town
Just by chance you crossed the diamond with the pearl
You turned it on the world
That's when you turned the world around
(Did you feel like Jesus?)
Did you realize
That you were a champion in their eyes?
On the hill the stuff was laced with kerosene
But yours was kitchen-clean
Everyone stopped to stare at your technicolor motor home
Every A-Frame had your number on the wall
You must have had it all
You'd go to L.A. on a dare and you'd go it alone
(Could you live forever?)
Could you see the day?
Could you feel your whole world fall apart and fade away?
Get along, get along, Kid Charlemagne
Get along, Kid Charlemagne
Now your patrons have all left you in the red
Your low-rent friends are dead
This life can be very strange
All those Day-Glo freaks who used to paint the face
They've joined the human race
Some things will never change
(Son, you were mistaken)
You are obsolete
Look at all the white men on the street
Get along, get along, Kid Charlemagne
Get along, Kid Charlemagne
Clean this mess up else we'll all end up in jail
Those test tubes and the scale
Just get it all out of here
Is there gas in the car?
Yes, there's gas in the car
I think the people down the hall know who you are
(Careful what you carry)
'Cause the man is wise
You are still an outlaw in their eyes
Get along (get along), get along, Kid Charlemagne (get along)
Get along, Kid Charlemagne
Those San Francisco nights
You were the best in town
Just by chance you crossed the diamond with the pearl
You turned it on the world
That's when you turned the world around
(Did you feel like Jesus?)
Did you realize
That you were a champion in their eyes?
On the hill the stuff was laced with kerosene
But yours was kitchen-clean
Everyone stopped to stare at your technicolor motor home
Every A-Frame had your number on the wall
You must have had it all
You'd go to L.A. on a dare and you'd go it alone
(Could you live forever?)
Could you see the day?
Could you feel your whole world fall apart and fade away?
Get along, get along, Kid Charlemagne
Get along, Kid Charlemagne
Now your patrons have all left you in the red
Your low-rent friends are dead
This life can be very strange
All those Day-Glo freaks who used to paint the face
They've joined the human race
Some things will never change
(Son, you were mistaken)
You are obsolete
Look at all the white men on the street
Get along, get along, Kid Charlemagne
Get along, Kid Charlemagne
Clean this mess up else we'll all end up in jail
Those test tubes and the scale
Just get it all out of here
Is there gas in the car?
Yes, there's gas in the car
I think the people down the hall know who you are
(Careful what you carry)
'Cause the man is wise
You are still an outlaw in their eyes
Get along (get along), get along, Kid Charlemagne (get along)
Get along, Kid Charlemagne
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