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Streetlights on Asphalt :: Free Music Podcast

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The streetlights kept gleaming on the black asphalt.
Recorded during the same session as Imagine and Strawberry Fields Forever, Streetlights on Asphalt is an original song done during the set. Jeremy and Neil have a solid groove line going on here. It’s impossible not to bob your head to it as you’re listening.
With the lyrics, I went with a straight spoken word style, very similar in style to Jack Kerouac’s delivery on his musical pieces.
Each segment is broken into separate slice-of-life urban stories. Each character is briefly described ending with his/her fate and then separated by the chorus line to hook it all together.

Streetlights on Asphalt
Night walking through rain slick streets
she was only looking for a ride home.
Too many cigarettes and too many drinks
and he said just one word too many.
So she walked right out of that crowded bar
no one goes there anymore anyways
All she needs to do is get home
so she can sleep this off
then she’ll decide what she really wants to be.
But for now, she just needs a ride.
The footfalls fell without her notice
she was just too drunk to hear it
The next thing you know
her picture’s in the paper
and everyone’s wondering what happened to the girl next door.

The streetlights kept gleaming on the black asphalt

He was going downtown to have a good time.
It’s been a long day with a long shift and he’s tired of giving
them all the fake smiles.
Just one night out to clear his head and maybe it’ll all mean something tomorrow.
Standing outside that dark warehouse
where the music marched out like it knew which direction to walk down the street.
“If I just keep moving”, he said, “I just might find a way out of this place”.
So he took some pills from some kid who’s name started with an “S”.
and let it take him away to the tracks.
He didn’t feel anything when the whistle came calling.
but he didn’t have to get up for work the next day.

And the streetlights kept gleaming on the black asphalt.

He knew his mom wasn’t coming home today.
She went out looking for the man to fill her up.
She was running on empty.
So bored and alone with the sound of the rats in the walls.
No one even knew they lived there anymore,
They were thrown out months ago but the slumlord never bothered
to come down and tell them himself.
It was all cardboard and needles anyway.
So he took the stared down the chamber and took one last look
and knew he wouldn’t need to scrimp to make rent again.

And the streetlights kept gleaming on the black asphalt.

Streetlights on Asphalt by Chilljam is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at chilljam.com.
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