El Paso
58 Lyrics

Balcony in El Paso
I'm sitting on my balcony in El Paso, thinking about life

Cigarette butts grace my balcony
The balcony is littered with cigarette butts

And the remains of a dead pigeon seem somewhat poetic
There is a dead pigeon on the balcony, which strangely seems poetic to me

The life form that scurries around below
I see people walking around below, most of them poor

Is a mixture of Tex-Mex and trailer park trash
The people below are a mix of Mexican, American and poor white people

I know you, 'cause I used to live here, too
I recognize these people because I used to live here before

Guess that makes you just like me
I am just like these people who are struggling to make a living

That make you wonder about yourself?
Does this realization make you question your own life and choices?

I don't know why
I'm not sure why

I'm here but I can't stay
I am in El Paso, but I cannot stay here forever

The more things change
Despite things changing

The more they stay the strange
Things seem to get stranger

Sittin' here on this plane
I am on a plane

Watchin' the empty faces crawl past me
I see other passengers with empty expressions passing by me

You know they all seem to have ingested
They all seem to have taken

That same melancholy pill
A pill that makes them sad and unsatisfied

Instead of warm, fuzzy and safe
Instead of feeling comfortable and secure

They seem cold and judgmental
They appear to be cold and judgmental towards others

Little conversations come in and out of audio focus
I can hear bits and pieces of other people's conversations

It's all in slow motion but somehow moving at the
Everything seems to be moving slowly, yet quickly at the same time

Speed of fear
As if everyone is afraid

I feel such the animal, I'm always the animal
I feel like a wild animal trapped in a cage, always anxious and restless

My body's the cage, I'm locked in this cage
My body is the cage, and I am trapped inside it

My home is worn, it's torn, it's been abused
My body is damaged and abused from years of neglect and bad choices

And I like it
Despite this, I have grown fond of my own suffering

Here I sit in another hotel and it smells like someone else
I am in another hotel room that smells of someone else's presence

I lay in bed and I can taste the smell
I can almost taste the smell of the room, as if it's in my mouth

They smell of smoke, the drink, the stink
The room smells of smoke, alcohol and filth

And the stain on the floor
There is a stain on the floor that adds to the uncleanliness of the room

I wonder was he with his wife?
I wonder if the person who stayed in this room before me was here with their wife

Or another man's whore
Or with a prostitute

Scratches upon the glass
There are scratches on the window glass

Tell of the drugs and the radio
They suggest that the previous occupant was doing drugs and listening to loud music

Is still on to the music that made them dance
The radio is still playing the same music that the previous occupant was listening and dancing to

I bet it was sweet
I'm sure they were having a good time

But me?
But as for me

Fuck man I gotta get some sleep
I need to get some sleep, despite how unpleasant this experience is