Lanyards - The Hold Steady

When you’re stuck out in the middle

You just figure that there’s something you’re missing

But it turns out that California

Is just tripping and disinterested kissing

Back in my hometown

There was nothing but the hum of the locusts

And the rest of my life

To get used to being washed out of showbiz

I was down around the docks

But I never saw anyone surfing

From a distance it looked pretty much perfect

But it’s different in person

The doctor said he only wants

To help me make more healthy decisions

Went out around the Fourth of July

And I was back by Thanksgiving

I danced around the subject

I swam in the Pacific

Like the westernmost American

Lanyards into laminates

Everybody’s trying to get the right kind of wristband

Banging on the door again

She just wasn’t answering

Showbiz is a struggle, man

Someone called an ambulance

Straightened out her necklace

And we sped to Good Samaritan

That girl from the Genesee Cleaners wasn’t from there either

We sunk into the seats downtown at some second shot theater

She took me home to her place in a camper van behind some old warehouse

Said she couldn’t come down and crash until we listened to 'Wipe Out'

Her character’s cool

She’s just dialing in her motivation

She’s into new things

But she won’t go to a second location

She’s never gone deep

But she might make an exception for Shark Week

When they kicked in the door

They said, «That's way too much blood for a nosebleed»

Hospital security

Everybody needs to see the right color wristband

She said she had a meeting

I thought they were mistaken

But depression isn’t kidding, man

The scene stuck in my head of her spread out on her bed

Like she’s showing off her wingspan

I sat in heavy traffic

I drowned in the Pacific

Then I went back to the heartland

The doctor said he only wants

To help me make some better decisions

Went out around the Fourth of July

And I was back by Thanksgiving

I saw a few stars

But I never made it into a movie

Still trying to make moves

But I’m back in Independence, Missouri