This Is My Town - Mark Kozelek

Had dim sum this morning at Lai Hong Lounge

After I kissed her goodbye and she went off to work

They sat me down with a group of old ladies and I smiled at them

And they smiled back at me

Picked up my chopsticks, they giggled

They were impressed with my chopstick skills

They were polite, and they reached out and poured my tea

And in return, I poured their tea

I got up to leave, they said, «You're nice, you’re funny»

I said, «Well thank you, you’re all very sweet and charming»

While I left I told the waitress, «You see that table over there?

It’s on me»

It’s on me

And I walked up Pacific from Chinatown

I’ve sung about this walk so many times, but yeah I’m still around

I looked down at Sally’s and I’m still spellbound

This is my town, this is my town

This is a young person’s town, this is a homeless person’s town

This is a tourist-friendly town, this was a gold miners' town

This was gentleman Jim Corbett’s town, this is the Grateful Dead’s town

And this is also my town

This is my town, this is my town

Now I’m walking along the edge of Golden Gate Park

The cold ocean wind pinches my face and it’s getting dark

I walk into the Cliff House, the hostess says, «Do you have a reservation, sir?»

I said, «Yes I do, my name is Mark»

I leave the Cliff House and it’s a darker shade of dark

I walk past the other buses charging up and whizz in awe

I hear a foghorn and smell the cypresses' wet bark

Go to the front desk, the lady said, «Can I get your name?»

I said, «Sure, my name is Mark»

My name is Mark

I picked up a guitar and I plugged it in

A 1960 Jazzmaster Sunburst here at the Seal Rock Inn

But it doesn’t matter what guitar I play, or if the neck is thick or thin

It doesn’t matter if the amp is a Fender Champ or a Fender Twin

I pick up whatever guitar may happen to be lying around

And I can pick up a garage sale guitar that my father found

It doesn’t matter if the strings are round, wound, or they’re flat-wound

This is my sound, this is my sound

And here from my room, 209

Out my window I see the top of the treeline

I look at my bed and I see the light flashing on my cell, I pick it up

«I'm sorry to hear that your uncle died, I remember him well

And he played the flamenco guitar very very well

As I recall, we passed it back and forth one day before he fell ill

As I recall, your aunt looked after him with so much love and care

Before she passed away not long before him, she was always there

I know that you’re down today, I know that you are feeling blue

But know that their love was long and true

Their love was true, and I’m here for you»

Went to the Mission District this afternoon

Ate an enchilada plate at Taqueria Cancún

I thought, what will I do this week

Some spoken word or croon?

I never really know until I arrive and hear the tune

I finished John Steinbeck’s The Moon is Down

Nazis came and pushed the Norwegians around

But in the end they said, «You can shoot our mayor down, down

This will always be our country, this will always be our town»

«Molly Morden was a very pretty girl

She was our blood and she lured and killed your soldier»

«You can kill our doctor, you can occupy our town

But you cannot kill our spirit, this will always be our town

This is and was and will always be our town»

Now I’m in my neighborhood walking down Hyde Street again

I order my iced tea like I always do, black and unsweetened

I looked at the solar eclipse a few hours too late

Yeah that’s right, I decided to sleep in today

There’s too much talk about what damage the sun

Could potentially do to your eyesight

And my eyes are already getting blurry, and I need my eyes

So I can see into your beautiful eyes

So I can see the gorgeous northern California skies

And so I can read books like William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury

And to watch TV shows like Eastbound and Down

And see the next fight with Tyson Fury

So I can make my way around Chinatown and Japantown

So I can order from the menu when I’m eating dinner downtown

During my break from the studio, where I wrote these words

This is my town