Dear Lisa

Dear Lisa it's me again
The truth is that I don't understand
What you look for in a man
And the time we spent back  in the past is now long gone

And there's nobody such as you
But you know this is what I do
Playing in bands to make a living
And possibly giving.

Dear Lisa, it's you know who
Here I am  your biggest fool
I'm at the front door let me in
It's good to see your living again but living in sin

I know someday we're going to pay
On the day of reckoning
I try to fight it but really
I was more than willing
(really)

Dear Lisa, one more night
Before the train comes down the line
Takes me back to the other side
It'll be the last time I'll see you smile
(the last time we'll smile)


I don't like being the odd man out
But I figured this is about
You were the best girl I ever had
For a day and a half.

C2008 Townedger Music Emporium

Sometimes writing a song can take on new meaning, be it from the past or a relationship that ends too soon.  This is from Pawnshops For Olivia, an album that took shape after reconnecting with a west coast girl and talking of the times that we spent together.  The record itself is an emotional roller coaster of feelings of love had and lost and even if the results would have been different, we were doomed to fail. Especially if she never experienced a winter in Iowa which she ended up getting phenomena for about three months.

Some variations between truth and fiction.  I thought the line about Plane flying into the sky was a bit personal and didn't fit the song well, so I changed it over to Train coming down the line.  The line on the second verse Here he is the biggest fool was changed to Here I Am Your Biggest Fool and I think the original line it's good to see your face again but changed to see your living again.  To fit the but living in sin part.  (I could have used But we are living in sin instead now that I think about it now). But the final verse concludes that I was the odd man out and for that time spent together was the best girl I ever had.  For a day and a half but in reality it was more like a week and a half, maybe longer. We'll never tell.

My good friend Diggy Kat continues to play this song at regular intervals on Lucky Star Radio from time to time and I always get a kick out hearing this on the radio.   And slightly over 2 minutes it gets to the point and fades out.  One of the more hook driven acoustic numbers I ever done.  And suggests to me that perhaps I should keep most of my songs at 2 minutes long..

2019:  Lisa still looks as beautiful as ever and has gotten better with age.  As of this writing she has found herself a new love and lives out somewhere on the west coast.  She was one of most exciting blind long distance dates I ever had,   But I think she knew I wasn't the one as she took me to a couple of the Portland record stores up there.  And she knew that the midwest wasn't for her when she came to visit, she certainly didn't like the cold and snow.  The dead giveaway was her look on her face when she saw the music room, and the drumset and the guitar and all them cymbals.  Despite another trip to Portland in 2000, I knew I lost her.   We did keep in touch off and on before she decided she wanted to move on and close the chapter to our friendship.  It's never easy but I think in the long run, it was the right decision.

She still has her long red hair.  I'm still losing mine.