Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight!
Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight features:
Rob Pastore - Upright
Dan DeGregory - Drums
James Suggs - Trumpet
And yours truly on vocals and guitar.
Recorded, mixed, mastered and co-produced at Zen recording by
The Wizard - Steve Connelly
Artwork by Beatrice Coron
ABOUT THE SONG
The closing song from the record was inspired by a Water For Elephants reference to the Character Camel being thrown out of the Circus Train in the middle of the night.
I think a more common practice was for a person to get fired and left at the station watching the red lights disappear as the train and the circus moved on without them. Being told to show up after the train had already left the station may have been another term for this and I have also heard of being thrown from the train as “Oil Spotting.”
Basically if you were of no use to the circus and were not “pulling your weight” they would ask you to leave. If you did not leave and continued to drain their space, food etc they would throw you from the train in the middle of the night.
One last thing for this song, I sort of called back to other stories from the record in this closing song. I mention the “Wizard” (Thomas Edison) and Topsy as well as Walker’s from Walker’s Pure Extract.
Featured on this recording are the following:
Lyrics
Red Eyed, Red Light Goodnight
THE LYRICS
CHORUS
Set ‘em up and break ‘em down the greatest show around is in and out of town tonight
You'll move your funny bones tingling to the sound through the megaphone
We’ll send you home humming when you hit the road, alright
Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight
VERSE
It’s rumored my dear friends that some folks will meet their end
(sliding) riding down the rails from town to town
You had better pull your weight or the heavy hand of fate
Will throw you out of the boxcar to the ground
Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight
CHORUS
Set ‘em up and break ‘em down the greatest show around is in and out of town tonight
You'll move your funny bones tingling to the sound through the megaphone
We’ll send you home humming when you hit the road, alright
Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight
VERSE
Old Camel got the Jake from the Walker’s he did take
We tried our best to keep it down and low
But rumors are a disease and they spread with careless ease
Brining certain someones in the know
Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight
CHORUS
Set ‘em up and break ‘em down the greatest show around is in and out of town tonight
You'll move your funny bones tingling to the sound through the megaphone
We’ll send you home humming when you hit the road, alright
Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight
VERSE ¾ TIME BREAK DOWN
Old topsy got the juice from a mad man on the loose
A shocking truth the wizard used to prove a petty point
What was it he did say abut non violence in his day
Let it be show that actions pulse more tru than words
Have you heard?
Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight
CHORUS
Set ‘em up and break ‘em down the greatest show around is in and out of town tonight
You'll move your funny bones tingling to the sound through the megaphone
We’ll send you home humming when you hit the road, alright
Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight
Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight
Red Eyed, Red Light, Goodnight!!