you wonder why I can never look you in the eye
well I've memorized every pattern on this floor
Her eyes are so naked I feel as if I'm intruding
if I look at them too long
I projected your deceptive emotion
like a summer vacation slide show
but I guess there was something else
behind that holiday smile
your ballet mirages and my one way economics
fall prey to wistful invention
I'll supply the expectations and demand that you be true
well I know I'm talking cliches and turning verbal tricks
but even the cheesiest love songs in a bar
turn profound when your three sheets to the wind
I could change this whiskey to water
but to you it's just pathetic heresy
sometimes when there's nothing left to do
I sit stacked and smoke myself silly
and make myself break down
because i guess i feel it's the thing I should do
I could toss around the word love like a boomerang
but I lost my catcher's mask
you wear your skepticism with rubber boots
and chastity wrapped in a cast
and maybe the mailbox might hold simple salvation
and i've seen the future in a crystal glass of beer
and I ain't pretending that understand a thing
but this ignorance is blistering
but open wounds dry clean
credits
from Redemption (out of print),
released October 1, 1996
TJ - acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica, vocals
Eric Straumanis - bass
Eric Griffin - drums
Marty Letz - pedal steel
Darren Matthews - acoustic and electric guitars
I've been listening to this record for over 30 years (!) It still holds up as one of the best pure pop records that you've probably never heard. A gem, to be sure. Tom Jessen
I'm including this just because it was the first thing I ever heard Dan make and I think it's necessary to start here. Quirky, honest, sometimes goofy and funny, but always heartfelt. Tom Jessen
Johanna Samuels writes introspective and empathetic songs that explore authenticity with lovely, low-key pop melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable May 20, 2021