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September 17, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 180 We Are Strangers

beach 4I was feeling very alienated from the family

It wasn’t actually my family it was my partner’s

All her brothers and sisters and their offspring

We were on holiday at Ocean Beach and it was pissing with rain

They were all getting drunk and arguing in the house

I wasn’t drinking in those days and just wanted out

So I stayed in the little room at the back of the garage where I slept

I had my guitar and came up with this intoxicating series of chordsbeach 1

The balance in my relationship had shifted and I was always on the back foot it seemed

She had a big powerful career now and I was still scratching around

It felt like I was at her mercy but was too weak to leave her and our son

I didn’t want to leave – I still loved her but I could feel her feelings for me waning away

It was a hollow place to be but I was finding real joy in the music I was writing that day

A complex but beautiful collision of chord changes and I didn’t want to lose it

So I stayed out in that little room till I nailed it down to the sad words that followed it

 

We Are Strangers

 

She’s crazy in one of those moods

Where it’s no picnic and I can never say anything wrong

She’ll soon be coming down

To those old home truths – she’s got a method of her own

 

And it breaks my heart when she lets on

That she’s going to bed alone

It’s a wonder we can function at all

With the weight of who we are
beach 3

It’s no good making plans

When conditions can change at the wave of a hand

I’m totally out of my zone

And in the wink of an eye I could be totally out on my own

 

We are strangers in a very strange way

That we don’t know at all

We are famous for a very strange thing

When we get caught they give it a name

 

She’ll soon be someone new

And I’ll be lucky if I can ever be anything more

 

And it breaks my heart when she lets on

That she’s going to bed alone

It’s a wonder we can function at all

With the weight of who we are

 

We are strangers in a very strange way 

That we don’t know at all 

We are famous for a very strange thing 

When we get caught they give it a name…

beach2

The Ghost of Electricity – War Stories by Jon McLeary is a new initiative at Off The Tracks, a series of stories and reflections from painter, writer and musician Jon McLeary

To read any of the first 179 in the series click here

 

Posted in Blog, Miscellany and tagged with # 180, Beach, Ghost, Lyric, Music, Ocean Beach, Poem, Poet, Poetry, Song, Songs, Songwriter, Songwriting, Spines, Strangers, The Ghost, The Ghost of Electricity, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLearThe Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLearyThe Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 180 We Are Strangers, The Spines, War Stories, War Stories # 180, War Stories by Jon McLeary, We Are Strangers, Wellington, Writing. RSS 2.0 feed.
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Off The Tracks is the home of Sweetman Podcast, a weekly interview/chat-based pod. It's also home to my reviews across film, TV, music and books and some creative writing as well.

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