well you take the highway to fortification street
you’ve got a houseful of cousins and plenty to eat
you may not be where you want to be, but you know you’ll find love
it’s been 16 years since i’ve seen this man in a straw hat and bermudas
so i shook his hand, he showed me to his pickup truck, Louisiana flew by
he said, now you know you’re way back home and you’ve got a bed
so don’t you worry your crazy curly head
we argued dissertations about the worth of the blues
he said it was ugly, i said it was cool
he said he smoked refer, i said, i don’t do none of that
Aunt Dell was in the kitchen, she said, what’s he talkin’ ’bout
you know you’re uncle’s crazy, i said, i’m eccentric myself
her husband sang a love song to a girl he knew in 1928
i went to a jazz club with my cousin Ramona,
the band had broken up, so we talked with the owner
he said, how do like the South? i said, i’m just tryin’ to find myself.
and he laughed at me
he said, now you know you’re way back home and you’ve got a bed
so don’t you worry your crazy curly head
southern wind don’t fill pretentious sails
i forgot to keep my journal, forgot LA was there
James brought baby Autumn, she pulled my hair and she smiled
bought my ticket for New Orleans, i was heading back to Rome
thinkin’ about Mel, Angela, and Vincent, and all that we’d done
thinkin’ how one week could change us, and how quickly one week was gone
well, i quit my job in LA for this trek to the unknown
now i’m eating lot’s of crackers and writing lots of songs
on the beach i think about finding work
the waves echo those southern words…
