Story Behind The Song

Sitting in the grey and waning wet light and journaling, i noticed that the scene was ripe song material. I was in a stange place. Louisville KY is a beatiful historic city, and i was parked in a parking lot right downtown. i played guitar and wrote and smoked cigarettes and got the song written before it got completely dark. i'd met a guy who owned a cafe listed in the weekly as having an open mic. it turned out to be a gay cafe, and the owner showed me an image of him in drag. when the brakes went the next day i called him up to see if he knew a mechanic. he didn't. that's what the song was about. i wound up doing the rear cylander myself over a period of a few days behind downtown recording studios, nick stevens' place, playing on the street at night.

Song Description

my brakes went after pulling into louisville KY, i met a cross dresser. it was raining and there was nothing else to do but write about it.

Lyrics

THE BRAKES




All Words and music by dan carrigan
Creative Commons License OK-7 Documents 1996-2005
www.dancarrigan.jukeboxalive.com countrycookinbookin@hotmail.com

the fluid on the ground was an indication
of a breach in the line
the light on the dash was a red flag that
my situation had stepped on a mine
so i pulled over into the parking lot
of a cafe i'd discovered the night before
i 'll admit that i had suspected
the brake pedal was too close to the floor
i'd been questing for that guerrilla gig
as when new in town i am want to do
the owner was friendly and ready for a wig
with plucked eyebrows and painted fingernails too
she showed me a shot on her video phone
wearing make-up and a woman's gown
she said that they would be watching movies that night
and guided me to a different part of town
apparently she's married
for twenty-five years now so i guess they're doing fine
and the brake fluid puddles in the parking lot
seeping from the breach in my brake line
attending her arrival as i write this song
and wishing i was more of a mechanic
i'm writing and pretending that nothing's wrong
i'm a musician on my own titanic
so i step outside because it's been raining
it's amazing when you look at the ground
the colours that my spill has created
the valdez of my tour going down
and i hear some kids in the distance
and the cars keep on whizzing by
and the trucks sound just like the ocean
and i entertain the notion of my master cylinder running dry
and in the a.m. it'll be brakes 'r' us or meineke
if she doesn't have a wrenching friend
'cuz folks are great and gregarious
i know it's up to me in the ned
i knew something was amiss
i was curious back in nashville and i had wondered why
and what's up with all those stains on the pavement
everywhere i went i was hoping they weren't mine
and with tears streaming down the side windows
i get back in and grab the guitar
i'm squeezing a song from the situation
and the fluid squeezes itself
from the bottom of my car