So why do I keep coming back? ‘Cause of all I’m saying here
Teenage punk fantasies of getting a band and playing here
On hold for twelve years but now there’s no delaying here
I’ve established the fact ‘cause now I’m back and babe I’m staying here
I feel free! Myself! Loose! Unchained and unfettered here
Unweighted unburdened untied and untethered here
Because for the first time life began to look better here
And so I upended the reason for following the law to the letter here
Oppression thrown off and independence declared here
The forces that would claim me all blinked when I stared here
They fell before my challenge, they took and lost my dare here
Now I got the last word about how long to grow my hair here
Now I’m the one to decide how outrageously to dress here
Which realities to question and what conventions to test here
And if the past was cursed then the future is blessed here
‘Cause I won’t stop till I’ve shot to the top and I’m up there with the best here
Falling in love and coming of age here
Finding the key to the universe and unlocking the cage here
Planning my strategy and setting the stage here
And if you ask me what’s all the rage here
Well—rock’n’roll is king here!
The angels they sing here!
It’s all got that swing so it means everything here!
History was made here!
The greats all stayed and played here!
The bands made their stands on the strand’s grand parade here!
No apologies here!
The place to just be is here!
The wild innocent spirit in the night still runs free here!
There’s a heart that still beats here!
The unfinished completes here!
Romance blooms in every crack in the streets here!
I know just what gives here!
No more negatives here!
I’m reborn, I feel alive, I touch life, I live here!
So now I’m coming back to be with the things that formed me
To stomp on ideology and laugh at conformity
In spite of all the well-meaning naysayers who warn me
I’m coming back to harvest all the things that are going for me
I’ve come back to this place from the ends of the earth
To taste that shot of love and experience rebirth
I can lie on the sand and melt into the turf
I sit by on the water’s edge and become one with the surf
It’s a way of life, it’s not just another place
It’s where everything moves at just the right pace
Without any needs to get caught up in the race
It’s contentment and ease and a certain style and grace
So this is the story of where it’s all at
Where the awkward geeky kid became a supercool cat
Where the Jersey Shore Baby sprang free of his trap
It ain’t just an act, he’s here and he’s back …
and that’s that!
©2007, 2022 The Hesh Inc.
This song is called "Coda" because it's the final section that wraps up the five-song suite establishing the reasons for my connection to the Jersey Shore and the setting for the entire Soul In Exile saga.
​It's also about the closest I'll ever get to rap. The vocal on the track as released is actually the scratch vocal laid down at the outset of the entire tracking phase. When it came time to lay down the full, proper lead vocals for the album, I realized I'd never be able to top the delivery I gave in the scratch vocal, so I left it as is. The funny thing is, I never quite got why rappers wave their hands the way they do, but when I belted out my vocals for this song, I understood completely—I found myself doing the same thing, involuntarily, just to pace my phrasing correctly!
Here it is, with an edited version of "Exile Detour" preceding it, as it appears on Soul In Exile Redux, released January 28, 2022.