Dani
There ain’t no lights shining on this town at all
Just darkness wrapping all those homeless bodies
sleeping outside this cold fall
Down in town the circuit’s been blockaded by someone’s broken cross-eyed dream
While Kingbird plays up Main Street way but there’s no one to listen to him scream
And the boys from down the street are still dancing
but it’s more like a funeral procession these days
Mourning for all their lovers lost to the plagues
Dani, the sun has gone down in our faces
The lights faded out and there’s no real sign of the morning
Sing for me tonight till better times come dawning
Hey Dani girl, my my baby.
Now the greasers
Nobody’s gonna bust ‘em ‘cause they beat the fastest way out of town
And those boys in their leather miniskirts
Aw, Dani—you ought to see them when they’re promenading around
And me, I just got tired of walking this boardwalk alone
Listening to the sound of my own voice
Chasing all the ghosts and shadows of what used to be here
and trying to resurrect some of that long-dead noise
And you know that tilt-a-whirl ain’t even there anymore
Just some drug gang’s territorial piss
And my head keeps on spinning, wondering
How did it come down to this?
Oh Dani, the sun has gone down in our faces
A deep darkness has descended over the ocean
This is how we get paid back for our years of devotion
It ain’t fair, Dani girl!
Dani
This music scene has just lost its fire for me I spoke to the guys last night and they agreed when I said it just don’t inspire me anymore We just slave away all summer and bang our heads on the wall for fifty bucks and empty rooms
And our nights are wasted competing with other bands
and reeking of stale beer and tobacco fumes
Didya hear Madam Marie, she’s been finally set free,
and she’ll still tell you you’ll be rich and famous, for a fee
I haven’t given up on this town, Dani
But it seems like she’s given up on me
Dani, the sun has gone down in our faces
We’ve been plunged into night and we wonder who’ll bring the morning
Sing for me tonight and we’ll sing better days into dawning
Just sing it, Dani girl. Just sing it.
©2023 The Hesh Inc.
It's easy to see where the inspiration for this song came from. The whole idea was to take the song that originally inspired it and update it to tell the story of what was going on there in the year in the title.
Interestingly enough, I didn't actually write it in Asbury Park. I wrote it when I went on one of my many songwriting weekends by myself in Wildwood, which is 90% dormant in the off season and a tremendous creative incubator for me. I thought originally that I would make it the penultimate song in the penultimate Soul In Exile album in the projected series, but I decided against it ... for obvious reasons. "Dani" is a real person, by the way. She is a good friend, though I haven't seen her for some years now. I wouldn't call this a love song to her, per se, though ... just that I imagined her listening to me as I fretted and fumed about the state of affairs in the beloved city. She is probably going to see this for the first time once I post it.
"Kingbird" is also a real person, a singer-songwriter who for a short while had the entire Asbury Park music scene kissing his ... well, eating out of his hand. Record deal, gigs, press, the works. But he was too much of a perfectionist, and he threw it all away. I never quite forgave him for that.
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