Jail

The Song

"Jail" is one of only two songs in the Clumsy Lovers catalog co-written by Trevor and Chris.

Trevor woke up one day whistling the chorus melody, so he fired up garage band and recorded it. He then had the idea to sing the verses over the traditional celtic tune “Drowsy Maggie”.  The arrangement,  musically, was basically in place from the first run-throughs.

Lyrically, Trevor had the chorus (altered only slightly in its final  version) and some verse lyrics, the latter seeming to be inspired by a solo trip to Mexico from which he had recently returned.  Chris used  those as a jumping off point to shape the song’s narrative.  He procrastinated enough on finishing the lyrics that he was still  working on them while other parts were being recorded in the studio. We were texting Charity, Tyler’s sister, at the 11th hour looking for  advice on Spanish words.

A year after release, this song has only been played live a few times,  although we will hopefully start playing it more regularly…

The Lyrics

I’m gonna tell you my story, I’m gonna sing you my song
I’m gonna give you all a warning, sometimes you stay too long
You won’t want to spend another minute, sure don’t want to spend  another day
So tired of talking to these same 4 walls they don’t have a lot to say
Sometimes you need a little sunshine, so tired of sitting in the dark
But I never shOuld have drank that big ol bottle of rum and fell 
asleep in the park

Who can say what’s coming
Who knows what will be
May as well stop your running
May as well wait and see

Flat broke sitting on a park bench, getting wet staring at the rain
Ain’t gonna beg so I ain’t gonna eat not a dollar left to my name
Here comes a pretty senorita, smiling like she’s had a little wine
Look at me I’m rising up to greet ya, sister can you tell a man the time
Why are you sitting in your wet clothes, looking like a dog without a  bone
That’s a tale I’d truly love to tell you, if I could have a meal at  your home

Who can say what’s coming
Who knows what will be
May as well stop your running
May as well wait and see

So I bribed my way out of the jail
With her grandfather’s watch and the promise of more
Caught a ride with a ship set to sail
But she sank as she launched, I swam on back to the shore

Well what’s that sitting on her counter, surely nothing she would ever  miss
Just an old watch probably don’t even work, tell me what’s the harm in  this
Funny how the jailer didn’t didn’t think so, funny how he thought it  was a crime
Got a feeling he could be persuaded, if he only had a watch to tell  the time
Mr.jailer sir can you hear me, look at what I’ve got for you
I’m sure it’s worth more than a month full of wages, sterling silver  present for you

Who can say what’s coming
Who knows what will be
May as well stop your running
May as well wait and see

So I bribed my way out of the jail
With her grandfather’s watch and the promise of more
Caught a ride with a ship set to sail
But she sank as she launched, I swam on back to the shore

And I ran straight down to the marina, looking for a job and an escape
Came across a captain that was leaving, didn’t even ask him what he paid
But we hadn’t cleared the breaker when she lilted taking water caught  up on the reef
Someone through me over yelled nadada woke up coughing water on the  beach
Now I’m flat broke sitting on a park bench looking like a dog without  a bone
Here comes a pretty senorita, sister show some mercy I’m reformed

Who can say what’s coming
Who knows what will be
May as well stop your running
May as well wait and see

So I bribed my way out of the jail
With her grandfather’s watch and the promise of more
Caught a ride with a ship set to sail
But she sank as she launched, I swam on back to the shore