Getaway Smile (a demo)

      John Wynn, a fellow musician who liked my song “The Girl with an Accidental Memory,” suggested I write one about someone with a make-believe memory. In other words, maybe what was remembered happened; maybe it didn’t. And if there was a couple, perhaps their make-believe memories conflicted.

Pretty cool concept.

I got as far as the first few lines:

“She wore a gypsy blouse off one shoulder; she was so hot she smoldered
and her getaway smile took her all the wayfrom the red clay of Georgia to the sandstone of Santa Fe.”

       From there it went nowhere. Perhaps that’s because there was nothing about a make-believe memory.

       The idea eventually floated off, but the “getaway smile” stuck with me for a year or more, as did the opening.

       And then I came back to it, and I’m glad I did because I really like this song and consider it as good a narrative song as I will likely write. (Sorry, John, it’s not about a make-believe memory.)

       By introducing the man, I had a couple’s story, if not a typical love story. This also afforded me the compare and contrast descriptive technique that then helped drive the story. I could write contrasting lines that played off each other, like:

          She wasn’t any one man’s woman
          And he wasn’t any one-woman man
Or

          He loved rolling those dice
          And she loved trolling the high life
And

          His luck and his welcome were running out       
          while she was out running around

 

       It’s my longest song and it became longer when Melissa insisted that I write something that lent credence or meaning to their actions. Hence the refrains. I like the way the second lines in the refrains reflect the different stages of their journey.

       I like stories where the beginnings foreshadow the ending and/or the ending reflects the beginning.  In this case the last verse is almost identical to the first verse, except for her destination.  

      Every time I sing this song, I see it as in a movie.

 

The above is just me and my guitar

Getaway Smile

She wore a gypsy blouse off one shoulder
she was so hot she smoldered
and her getaway smile got her all the way
from Santa Fe to Georgia.

They said he was wanted in another country
Something about gambling with another man’s money
But he ain’t on the run he was
Just looking for cover

         She wasn’t any one man’s woman
          And he wasn’t any one-woman man
          They knew exactly what they wanted
           and for a while it seemed they were made for each other

(refrain):

it starts out easy and it starts out small
You don’t have to run but you might have to crawl
but it ain’t over til that last call

 

He never said why they needed to leave Atlanta
Just that they’d do better in Savannah
Where life is slower
and the only heat found in the weather.

She not the kind to be left alone
being lonely can mess with your soul
Next thing you know you’re seeking comfort
 that only the night holds

          He loved rolling those dice
          And she loved trolling the high life
          He didn’t make many friends with his winning ways
          and of course she made more than could possibly stay

(refrain):

it starts out easy and it starts out small
sometimes you think you’ve seen it all
 but it ain’t over til that last call

 

It started getting hotter than the weather
And it didn’t really matter which way he bet ‘em
Those dice rolled every which way
but seven or 11.

And she was attracting attention
The kind that sends married men to confession
And if you aren’t careful pretty soon
somebody’s gonna pull a weapon

      His luck and his welcome were running out
      while she was out running around
      He wanted them to leave but he didn’t know how to ask her
      Besides he worried she might not want to go together

(refrain):

it starts out easy and it starts out small
next thing you know you’ve hit a wall
but it ain’t over til that last call

 

Now you’ve heard of an inopportune time
that when he walked in to find
her in let’s just say
a compromising position.

Her new friend went for his gun
Her old lover just stood there stunned
Knowing you can’t undo
what’s been done.

      He was the one man she would remember
      She told everyone she’d been forgiven
      Cause in that last breath he took in her arms
      He said darling don’t take this too hard

 

(refrain):
it starts out easy and it starts out small
sometimes you fly and sometimes we fall
but it ain’t over til that last call

 

She wore a gypsy blouse off one shoulder
she was so hot she smoldered
her getaway smile got her all the way
from Savannah to Seattle

 

 

 

 

 

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