Live in Chicago - Mark Kozelek

Walked down Orange Avenue past a pizza shop

Walked down Magnolia Avenue past a couch and the Wawa trucks

Walked down Colonial past the 7-Elevens and the tattoo shops

Sunday morning downtown Orlando

Got into my taxi, he’s listening to Cardi B

Got into my taxi, it’s raining outside and it’s muggy

The air conditioning cracking and irritating my throat

Step back into the humidity, the air makes me choke

The show in Florida that night felt really good

Ben played piano beautifully and his drum machine went thoomp-thoomp-thoomp

My singing was stellar and the crowd was swooning to my croon

We played «Needles Disney» and the crowd lit up

That song got the loudest cheering

But when we played a song for the victims of the Orlando shooting

The room was quiet and I felt uncomfortable singing it

And for reminding them of the tragedy

Of what went so horribly wrong down there

But it went okay, I just wanted them to know that I cared

Afterwards, we drove past the Pulse nightclub

In the northern direction of Orange

Condos just behind it, quintessential suburban intersection

Dunkin Donuts on one corner, a Wendy’s on the other

A lone palm shooting up from the blacktop

On the other corner, an auto repair shop

Forty-nine succulents out front, a memorial to the fallen ones

That contrast with the beautiful Florida sun

And its laws supporting guns

When the people were killed there last June

I was up in the sky, on my flight from Bergen to Trondheim

See, I called my flight away from there

United Airlines Flight 441 to Chicago-O'Hare

Stayed up late that night, texting away and talking

Steaming my suit in the bathroom

I’m gonna look sharp tomorrow, like Christopher Walken in True Romance

Tried to call from the flight, beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep me up

Had tomatos at a Mediterranean restaurant

Got some oranges and bananas from the Walmart

Across the street there used to be a Ross, got scarves and hats there

In the winter, sentimental about this hotel

I’ve been staying here since I can remember

Waking up to garbage trucks this morning

Didn’t get enough sleep due to my dry cough

Many men have flirted with this hotel

And the ghosts visit me each time I’m here

The times I cried when I visited a granddaughter and to attend her memorial

They used to, shared a night here one song

The girl from Alabama who insisted

I take her for a nice dinner before we slept together, I said

«It's 1:30 in the morning and I don’t know a nice spot in Chicago

And I’m tired and it’s fucking cold»

She said, «Well, in the morning you must at least take me to a nice breakfast»

I said, «Well, in the morning I’ve got an early flight to catch to Dallas,

Texas»

She said, «Okay, as long as there’s a store near your hotel

Where I can at least get some beer»

«That works for me,» and then I watched her open Gideons' Bible

Through a reflection in the mirror

And nowadays during my stays, I call my girlfriend

And tell her how lonely I feel here

Nowadays I call my girlfriend and say «I love and I wish you were here»

Gonna sleep a few more hours

And grab my 3-pound dumbbells and do 30 minutes of shadowboxing

Ask the front desk if they can kindly print some lyrics for my show tonight

Well now I just got a phone call from my little sister

Tells me of a mass shooting in Las Vegas at a concert last night

And Tom Petty died at 66

How did I miss this news?

The TV’s been plugging sports all day

I met Mike and Steve from, we talked about

The shooting and Tom Petty and things regarding being middle-aged

I said, «Steve, I gotta be honest, I don’t know Tom Petty songs all that well»

He said, «There's a perfect one for you to sing tonight

It’s called 'Here Comes My Girl'»

I said, «I like that one so much better than 'Refugee'»

And I wrote the words down backstage sipping on my water

Next to a free tray of an assortment of cold cuts and cheeses

Great show last night but I got tired about 75% of the way through

Don’t remember feeling that tired back when I was playing shows in 1992

But I felt good in my suit and my brand new alligator-skin shoes

Everybody played those beautiful tunes

And the light man set a perfect blue cue

I played «Here Comes My Girl» from Tom Petty, it woke me up

I told them about how I saw Tom Petty playing with Tommy Tutone

When I was just a

I dedicated «Exodus» to the people who lost their lives in Las Vegas

A somber end to the show

That was the end of the concert, live in Chicago