{"id":664,"date":"2020-10-22T14:40:59","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T14:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/?page_id=664"},"modified":"2020-10-22T14:41:04","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T14:41:04","slug":"lost-in-america-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/?page_id=664","title":{"rendered":"Lost in America"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lost in America\" width=\"819\" height=\"461\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-FFprBKYcgc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<em>Snow on the railroad tracks<br>Dogs in the moonlight<br>Stoned out on Kerouac<br>Trying to get it just right<br>A phone in a dim-lit room<br>Rings out forever<br>In a time that was still too soon<br>But why should he care<br><br>He had a rambling soul<br>He drank a bottle of cheap wine<br>Turned up his collar to the cold<br>And waited \u2013 he waited for a sign<br><br>Fueled by amphetamine<br>And visions of beauty<br>As far as the eye could see<br>Was all that he strived for<br>A waitress in Tennessee<br>Said he looked like Jesus<br>He silenced her raging sea<br>Then walked out the door<br><br>He had a rambling soul<br>He drank a bottle of cheap wine<br>Turned up his collar to the cold<br>And waited \u2013 he waited for a sign<br><br>Under the open sky<br>He stands with his eyes closed<br>If anyone asked him why<br>He would not know<br>He\u2019s lost in America<br>He\u2019s hell-bent for no place<br>A rusty harmonica<br>That won\u2019t even play<br>He\u2019s lost in America\u2026<\/em>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019d drive most days from Oakmont to my part-time job in East Liberty. The images along the way (train tracks, river, etc.) led to those first couple of lines. I had read a biography about Jack Kerouac and had a volume of his collected works on the kitchen table in my apartment. That\u2019s how he showed up. There might also have been a harmonica laying around. Beyond that, the song just kind of wrote itself.<br><br>Looking at it now, I believe I was calling myself out (or attempting to, at least) in what is basically a brutal little character sketch about a shallow young dude pretending to be deep. Upturned collar. Bottle of Mad Dog wine. Jesus complex. Unfortunately, I did not then possess the tools to comprehend this little self-dialogue and failed to heed my own warnings.<br><br>When I sing the song these days, I make a point of keeping my eyes open at the top of the last verse (Under the open sky\u2026). Though I can\u2019t go back in time and pick up the phone in the dim-lit room or better preserve that old harmonica, I am determined to stand in contrast to the shallow boy I was. I am determined to see the open sky and to open my heart in response to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/us\/album\/lost-in-america\/62164193?i=62164102\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"216\" height=\"78\" src=\"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/applemusic-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-190\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/track\/2kA2NJ2yGDn1mgOLK6sVOO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"216\" height=\"87\" src=\"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/spotify-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-191\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:30px\"> Archives<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/?page_id=656\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"656\">In My Head &#8211; 10\/16\/2020<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/?page_id=652\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"652\">Start Again &#8211; 10\/9\/2020<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/?page_id=642\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"642\">Morning Sounds &#8211; 10\/2\/2020<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/?page_id=632\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"632\">Saint Jude &#8211; 9\/25\/2020<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/?page_id=622\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"622\">1970s &#8211; 9\/18\/2020<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/?page_id=610\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"610\">Blue Sky Song &#8211; 9\/11\/2020<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/?page_id=24\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"24\">Midnight Ghost &#8211; 9\/4\/2020<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Snow on the railroad tracksDogs in the moonlightStoned out on KerouacTrying to get it just rightA phone in a dim-lit roomRings out foreverIn a time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-664","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=664"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":666,"href":"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/664\/revisions\/666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/billdeasy.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}