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Central Bridge

by Darren Jessee

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1.
Joni, I’ve got you to thank Your voice got me through Helped me to change Keith and Judy Bob freewheelin’ John and Kacey showed me where to land You changed me You’ll never know I send love and thanks Maybe you know How Stina and Adam always showed up Just when you need him It’s Halifax-Joel You looked good with him At the flower shop Now we’re all grown up I loved you so much You changed me You’ll never know I send love and thanks Maybe you know We rolled through towns We shook the rooms In parking lots danced around Scott’s tunes Back on the highway you let the stars in You showed me myself Where everything ends And you changed me You’ll never know I send love and thanks Maybe you know You changed me You’ll never know I send love and thanks Maybe you know
2.
Parked out on the last road Where the planes take off and land Gave the keys to your Mama Put em in her hand Now we have all this in common Memories that just were If I could have picked anyone else It wouldn’t have been her Will that be enough When you get what you want Will that be enough Will you be alright If you let me go Now I’m living outside Houston At the book store closing up Saw an ad for your new TV show LA must be rough Cause we have all this in common Falling for your best friend I flipped out on the small stuff When it just wouldn’t end Will that be enough When you get what you want Will that be enough When you’re in the spotlight Will you be alright The first three months we drank our weight Stayed up so late scheming You belong on a stage With time and room and space To live it up Will that be enough? When you get what you want Will that be enough When you’re in the spotlight Will you be alright Will that be enough
3.
Took a walk after dinner Fresh air feels good Fortune smiles on the fortunate Mostly it’s left up to chance Found some smokes in the pocket of my old coat Ran into Cass outside the laundromat And I know what she meant The horizon is too far away All my life it’s inside of me I see the world Inside of me You make it alright You make it alright for me babe and I know I know I’m getting close Walked to the top of dog hill Looked down and all I could feel Like some county storage space Full of shit that I can’t face When I think back to what it meant Cool kids and entitlements Kinda gross, adios You make it alright You make it alright for me babe and I know I know we’re getting close Pushed my fists down into my coat With the words caught in my throat I see the world inside of me You make it alright for me babe and I know I know we’re getting close
4.
It’s gonna take time The fox tells me Before I’m through the hills First thaw of spring Clear-eyed chasing It’s gonna take love The trees tell me You’re gone too soon “I’m two hundred today, see my branches sway?” There you go Wild and ascending blue It’s gonna take time The hawk tells me Before I’m flying free above everything Clear-eyed soaring There you go Wild and ascending blue All you knew left to be discovered new There you go wild and ascending blue
5.
Brown curl to your shoulder Green apples in the rain Reflection in the window Drifting from place to place A cloud in the sky Ohio runaway bride Riding the horses Sneaking out of someplace Anybody’s guess Just a conversation With a stranger on a jet Late summer still life Ohio runaway bride Riding the horses I believe in love now Before we fly Used to be easy In your wild blue mind I believe in love now Try not to lie Used to be you and me In your wild blue mind Left the party early Rolled another hit I’m just passing through Staying at Anette’s Did you ever feel so free Red clay runaway bride Riding the horses
6.
Sunset Same crowd Babe you’ve got that look right now The one you carry all over town Same as me Jukebox moaning in the dark A mountainside of lost parts When you were walking home under the stars I was too When your baby don’t love you no more Baby don’t get you anymore Someone opened your heart Now it’s falling apart for more Late night at the supermarket Frozen aisle small of mopped floors Girl at the register with orange hair Says on the intercom “Price check on aisle A How much does this beer cost?” A rental cop asked for my receipt Which I’d already lost When your baby don’t love you no more Baby doesn’t get you anymore Someone opened your heart Now it’s falling apart for more You think I still care cause I hide When I said you knew me I lied Passed out up at dawn Blue light TV still on No messages on my phone Same as you
7.
Sunbeam 04:41
A little piece of the sun broke off Into life and here you are Sneaking into the hotel bar Pulling my arm all the way Did the heavens say Do do do do do … Hanging with my baby A perfect sunbeam There’s nothing we can’t do When I look at you Swimming in the afternoon Wet bathing suits on the floor of your room Stepping into a warm shower Pulling my arm all the way Did the heavens say Do do do do do … Hanging with ya baby A perfect sunbeam There’s nothing we cant do When I’m with you Broken pieces of the same star Into life and here we are Sneaking into the hotel pool Pulling my arm all the way Did the heavens say Do do do do do … Hanging with my baby A lazy Saturday There’s nothing we cant do When I look at you A perfect sunbeam
8.
Mirage 05:08
I loved you even when I was ruining it When I was lost in the palm of your hand Walked down the empty Cobblestone streets Shared a jacket high out on the beach Now the stars are all awash In my brutal blue collage How could I hold you when you’re just a mirage Laundry out on the line Waves in the alleyway A white cat walked up to you You were burning brighter Pockets full of sand My hand stained with ink They’re not the woman she was raised to be Now the sun is going down In your brutal blue collage How could I hold you when you’re just a mirage Hmm? Apartment key and a sweater in a backpack Took the last train back And wandered down by the old waterfront The honking cars the tourists are all gone So I’ll keep you there in my brutal blue collage How could I hold you when you’re just a mirage The stars are all awash In my brutal blue collage How can I hold you when you’re just a mirage Hmm?
9.
Guess you had enough A sign went up Two bedroom for rent On the corner I stopped by the diner and Sara said you were gone Empty hangers, graduation gown I live in your old hometown The summer before We walked along the empty streets behind the Plez U And went swimming In the reservoir At the water’s edge I miss you now We broke up I stuck around I live in your old hometown Sam and Angela’s movie house closed down They’re booking bands at the coffeeshop now Here in your town, I wake up face down I work part-time at Campus Wine I stock the shelves with your favorite kinds Someone else moved in to your old house They cut the magnolia tree down I hear you’re out there in LA now I hope you’ll stop by when you’re around I live in your old hometown

about

Darren Jessee is a familiar presence to alternative music fans thanks to his long tenure as the drummer / backing vocalist in Ben Folds Five. (He also co-wrote that group’s biggest hit “Brick.”) Outside of that outfit, he’s logged time touring with Sharon Van Etten and Hiss Golden Messenger, as well as fronting the indie rock ensemble Hotel Lights. But perhaps Jessee’s most affecting work has been the three albums he has released over the past five years under his own name. On these recordings, he scales everything back to the purest pop essentials, with strings, acoustic guitar, and a smart application of vintage keyboards serving to put further emphasis on his languid vocals and plainspoken, yet elegiac lyrics. Jessee’s latest full-length Central Bridge is his best yet. A hushed understated affair recorded primarily in the artist’s North Carolina home, the album revels in the small details of life—a crumpled pack of cigarettes found in an old jacket, a pile of wet swimwear on the floor—that somehow leave a lasting impression on a person or stir up deep seated memories.

credits

released March 24, 2023

Darren Jessee - vocals, guitar, piano, drums
Alan Weatherhead - keyboards, guitar
Jay Brown - bass
Stuart Bogie - sax

Songs by Darren Jessee
Produced and Mixed by Alan Weatherhead
Strings by Trey Pollard
Mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room
Cover painting by Abby Brown

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Darren Jessee

musician, songwriter

darrenjessee.com

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