Forget Her Eyes

There had been a lot of women. At least by the standards of happy, well-adjusted people. That’s how he figured it these days.

But for a long time, he’d been proud on some level he knew to be infantile, silly, superficial, tawdry… but proud, nonetheless.

Forget Her Eyes

previous versions
Monday, November 21, 2005
Tuesday, March 14, 2006

He’d lost track but one day an old pal challenged him to count them up.

There were more than he remembered, and he felt a secret thrill as he tallied them up… but as the scribbled list grew, there were more and more question marks for last names, and more than a few forgotten first names, as well.

And as the list grew, so too did his increasing sense that there was something ultimately pathetic about the list. There were a lot of flings, of course, a handful of one night stands, a little cheatin’, a little slippin’ around…
But there were some relationships he really tried at… or at least that’s what he’d told himself at the time. But every time a love affair or relationship went down in flames, he consoled himself with the promise of adventure and new romance.

And after a while he began to wonder if maybe it wasn’t just adventure and romance that he was seeking. Maybe the hard work of building a relationship — as more than a couple of girls had phrased it — maybe that was just too much work.

Adventure, romance, sex… that was the easy part...

previous versions
Monday, November 21, 2005
Tuesday, March 14, 2006

lyrics
Forget Her Eyes
[aka Swim or Die]

forget her eyes forget her voice
forget her soft caress
she’s just some phony made up girl
up inside your lonely head

forget the night that could have been
the time that never was
forget the dreams that turned to lies
then crumbled into dust

swim or die
it’s understood
I know just what to do
swim or die
it sounds- so – good
if I could only move

the waters cold
the moon is pale
the lights sparkle on the pier
the musics faint & far away
the ocean’s like a mirror

I see myself for what I am
it all becomes so clear
just a wave upon the sea
and this ocean’s just a tear

swim or die
it’s understood
I know just what to do
swim or die
it sounds- so – good
if I could only move

Swim or Die

Ever get really good advice and not seem to be able to take it — even though you think it could maybe even save your life?

No, I’m not talking about quitting smoking. (OK, maybe I am; you have to decide for yourself.)

Sometimes you’re just a deer in life’s headlights, frozen, agonizingly in what should be a moment of indecision… and maybe it is just a moment but it seems to stretch on forever almost as though retelling your life in one of those “How did I get here?” flashbacks. Live or die. Love or hate. Go to work or sleep all day and lose your job.

Forget Her Eyes

forget her eyes forget her voice
forget her soft caress
she’s just some phoney made up girl
up inside your lonely head

forget the night that could have been
the time that never was
forget the dreams that turned to lies
then crumbled into dust

swim or die
it’s understood
I know just what to do
swim or die
it sounds- so – good
if I could only move

the waters cold
the moon is pale
the lights sparkle on the pier
the musics faint & far away
the ocean’s like a mirror

I see myself for what I am
it all becomes so clear
just a wave upon the sea
and this ocean’s just a tear

swim or die
it’s understood
I know just what to do
swim or die
it sounds- so – good
if I could only move

An autobiographical note: the protagonist in this song is most assuredly not me. But it’s his emotional paralysis that spoke for my matrix of moods as I was writing this song. Autobiography-wise, the smart ass a few songs back who sang “Sometimes at night I call your name / a thousand girls have told me so,” is more up my alley. Pathetic as I understand mature people will think that. Talk about the footprint of pathology, huh? This footnote sez it all.