Sweet Kara
Minneapolis to Tomah,
She had a sparkle in her eye.
But it wasn’t her Kara twinkle,
She was trying hard not to cry.
Madison to Milwaukee,
Working to let it go.
She knew the sun was already setting,
On her twilight hours show.
Kara,
Sweet Kara,
How far will you roam?
It takes 31 hours by bus
To get from rock and roll
To home.
She had saved up all her money,
She had saved up all her time,
She dragged along her brother Eddie,
Her partner in crime.
They had just two days to fly out west,
To see her cherished band.
But a fateful call ruined it all,
So the bus was all they had.
Kara,
Sweet Kara,
How far will you roam?
It takes 31 hours by bus
To get from rock and roll
To home.
Chicago to Toledo
A hard dark night on that greyhound,
She tried to rock herself to sleep,
Singing their song “Will You Be Found?”
Cleveland to Youngstown
She drifted back to 91,
The night Eddie took along his little sister,
And the obsession had begun
Trip Shakespeare changed sweet Kara,
They stole her heart in just one night.
Then they broke their band apart,
Sending Kara in flight
She’s been chasing every piece of that band,
Now matter how far apart they get.
Between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
She knew she wasn’t done chasing yet.
Kara,
Sweet Kara,
How far will you roam?
It takes 31 hours by bus
To get from rock and roll
To home.
Kara,
Sweet Kara,
How far will you roam?
It takes 31 hours by bus
To get from rock and roll
To home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s a rough draft. There may be some tweaks, I have to sing it a lot more. I’m purposely not posting the chords because I know that if I do Matt will pillage the whole damn thing. Paybacks are a bitch.
Song style is Glen Campbell-ish circa 1972, singing style is definitively Mason Jennings circa 2010.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liner notes: (before John can even stop me)
The bus is a metaphor.
Let’s just let that soak in a while…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Spoiler alert: If you, like John, believe that detailed liner notes ruin individual interpretation and enjoyment of a song, do not read further.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The use of the word “bus” as a key feature lyric is intentional exactly because it is ugly and blunt. The 31 hour trip on a bus “to get from rock and roll to home” represents the pain and suffering along the existential journey from the idealism of youth toward the self actualization that comes from recognizing that joy, contentment, serenity, and meaning are found within the identification of personal values, and the realization of ones inherent ability to live by them daily. Duh.
I was tempted to go the full monty with working all the various band incarnation’s names into the lyrics, but “the flops” became a thistle, and “semisonic’ would have ruined everything. Again. (just kidding). I figure three is pretty good.
Singing words like Milwaukee and Philadelphia, which are drastically un-musical, was also intentional so as to represent the pedestrian and non-glamorous points along the way of such a weary journey. (no offense) Though, ironically, “Trip Shakespeare” turns out to be just as un-musical to sing.
The descriptor “Sweet” is used because Kara is sweet.
...and the beginning of my metamorphosis from Lancaster County mom to true Rock and Roll Royalty….maybe..
