Avenue A, Shanghai, Hollywood - Jeffrey Lewis

Once upon a time there was a princess man

He had the special powers of the checkout scan

He could price out any product from the UPCs

But he couldn’t see the forest for the symmetries

A perfect paranoia now engulfs my pets

That I’m using them as simple social safety nets

I wish this loneliness upon myself, I’m told

Cause both puppy chow and vengeance aren’t just served cold

Meeting with the neighbor traps you in a chat

The dog is kind of bored until she lays down flat

I just walk out and wander like a floating bag

And a city dog can always get a hearty wag

So face it, you can’t win, who has to try this hard?

I guess the ace that’s in my sleeve is just a pity card

But I know I rode a camel from this camera shot

And I must’ve had some sexy times that I forgot

I wait to fall in love, I wait to see Brazil

I wait to see if plants survive my windowsill

I wait to see the Northern lights I always missed

Like chicken breast, it’s piled in my bucket list

But with laughter and with pain that’s a broken heart

When happy ever after is the way it starts

But if there’s potholes in the rock and roll I tell

At least it’s still a pothole on the road to hell

Avenue A was once enthused I guess

In retrospect compared to all this plywood mess

Like a dog sits in depression touching chin to floor

No one with a job has got the dough no more

Now he’s packing heat and gigging in Shanghai

And no one knows he’s secretly a famous guy

An everlasting fire burns among the cancer smoke

Like a journalist still asking «what is antifolk?»

Anyone can catalogue the reasons here

Any rationale can be a thing I think

Any word of welcome can be sweet and clear

With a hidden scammy virus in the hyperlink

But tell us little stories till we feel more good

Tell us little stories just like Hollywood

Tell us little stories so the hours pass

As we row to reach the island of the middle class