Horseshoe Crabs
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Album: Painted Shut Released: May 4th, 2015 Written by: Hop Along Produced by: Hop Along & John Agnello Harp: Mary Lattimorey Piano: Drew Taurisano Shaker: Eric Slick |
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Background
A live demo of the track was performed at the Weathervane Studio Concert in 2013.
The track is about the real-life folk musician Jackson C. Frank. Frank released only one album due to his mental health struggles and, later in his life, homelessness; however, he is cited as being influential to many songwriters to this day. Quinlan was inspired to include a song about his life after hearing his song "Tumble in the Wind".
Jackson C. Frank's "Tumble in the Wind" came up on Pandora radio or something in 2013 and I was just absolutely blown away by it. Then I read his story; and I felt like I could feel a great weight of experience in his song, so sad and moving and tired, it just stuck with me--for some reason I wanted to write about him then, it's just such a striking and sad story.
Lyrics
Hey, did you hear me, mom?
Baby's headed home
Against your wishes, I went
Into the woods, alone
Just look at my face, a vegetable, beet red
I know you gave me
Money for the motel
Money for the motel
I came here instead
What I wanted when I left you
Brushed by, so close
With the money, I got pretty gone and
Bloodied some poor actor's nose
One night in the park, the pellet gun
Took out an eye, I came undone
One college kid came to see me
He passed me that nylon string
Asked me to play him something
So I tried my hand at "Blues Run the Game"
I barely made it through it
Then he had to go back to his parent's house upstate
Upstate
Woke from the dream and I was old
Staring at the asscrack of dawn
Walked these streets up and down
Looking for Paul Simon
All I found was myself, lost in time
I tried singing my songs
But I lost my mind
What have they done with my jealous one?
Who is gonna talk trash long after I'm gone?
When I was young, they used to find me
Pitching horseshoe crabs back into the sun
What have they done, what have they done
With my jealous one? With my jealous one?
When I was young, they used to find me
Pitching horseshoe crabs back into the sun
Mom, I'm coming home
Against your wishes, I went into
The woods, alone
Just look at my face
A vegetable, beet red
I know you gave me
Money for the motel
But I came here instead, oh
What I wanted when I left you
Brushed by, so close
With the money, I got pretty gone
And bloodied some poor actor's nose
One night, sitting in the park, the pellet gun
Some kid blinded me in one eye, I came undone
A college kid came to see me
I tried explaining myself
He left me feeling lonelier
Than I've ever felt
Woke from the dream and I was old
Staring at the ass crack of dawn
Walked these streets up and down
Looking for Paul Simon
All I found was myself, lost in time
I tried singing my song, but I lost my mind
Calling, "Where is my jealous one?
Who will talk trash long after I'm gone?"
When I was young
I hurled horseshoe crabs back into the raging sun
Where is my jealous one, one?
Who will trash long after, long after I'm gone?
Oh, when I, when I was young
I used to hurl horseshoe crabs back into the raging sun