Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Papillon busted free
Though it took him until he was sixty-three
And nobody cared about the goddamned inquiry
And Daga stayed on the farm
Though he found no cause for alarm
It was a hell of a swim, but he still had two good arms
Gorillas are for eating
Don't you know it's true?
I fell in love with you
And don't you think it's sad?
Because here we both stand
Amidst the wreckage of our past
And I'll spend the day with you
We'll meet at your house after two
You're the most exhausting girl I ever knew
And when you let me leave, I'll go
I'll let you get back to your phone
You mean well, Mel, but you're all talk and no show
Pick you lips until they're bleeding
Don't you know I fell?
The lair of the queer devil
Is deeper than you thought
The computer's still on
And the webpage is alt.com
And I hope you'll come back soon
And I feel like a million bucks today, a million bucks today
Because I know it can only go up from here
Because she says it's so much better after all
After all we been through
I can't get my mind off of you
It's a hell of a way to spend the whole day through
And you left your name on the bar
You hopped in your little brown car
You moved in with Gramps and you got yourself a job
And the room is slowly sinking
But I can play guitar
And Morgan, you're so far
Away from me tonight
And I'll try to make it right
By putting you in this here song
Oh, yeah
Okay
Okay, wait
Oh my God, Blake
That's what she said
In bed
Papillon busted free
We watched him at 4:53
And I'm glad you chose to spend the night with me
Though it took him until he was sixty-three
And nobody cared about the goddamned inquiry
And Daga stayed on the farm
Though he found no cause for alarm
It was a hell of a swim, but he still had two good arms
Gorillas are for eating
Don't you know it's true?
I fell in love with you
And don't you think it's sad?
Because here we both stand
Amidst the wreckage of our past
And I'll spend the day with you
We'll meet at your house after two
You're the most exhausting girl I ever knew
And when you let me leave, I'll go
I'll let you get back to your phone
You mean well, Mel, but you're all talk and no show
Pick you lips until they're bleeding
Don't you know I fell?
The lair of the queer devil
Is deeper than you thought
The computer's still on
And the webpage is alt.com
And I hope you'll come back soon
And I feel like a million bucks today, a million bucks today
Because I know it can only go up from here
Because she says it's so much better after all
After all we been through
I can't get my mind off of you
It's a hell of a way to spend the whole day through
And you left your name on the bar
You hopped in your little brown car
You moved in with Gramps and you got yourself a job
And the room is slowly sinking
But I can play guitar
And Morgan, you're so far
Away from me tonight
And I'll try to make it right
By putting you in this here song
Oh, yeah
Okay
Okay, wait
Oh my God, Blake
That's what she said
In bed
Papillon busted free
We watched him at 4:53
And I'm glad you chose to spend the night with me
Lyrics submitted by brick
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Bertoldi Brothers
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
All I know is that Morgan is Jenny's best friend and used to go out with Blake. She's also mentioned in "Absence of God"