Long Beach, California's Bargain Music is a wildly eclectic revolving door … Read Full Bio ↴Long Beach, California's Bargain Music is a wildly eclectic revolving door centered on the songwriting/vocals of lone original member Josh Fischel. Drawing comparisons to diverse artists as Prince, Van Morrison, Lou Reed, Peter Tosh, Frank Zappa, Neil Young, Ween, Living Color, Lyle Lovett and Iron Maiden, Bargain Music uses rock n roll, soul, folk, country, reggae, and even metal with their quirky, personal, evocative lyrics to tie everything together. Nine years ago, Bargain Music was an idea to get various local musicians together to see what they were able to pull off. Fourteen members later, thats exactly what they are. Having played with artists like Lee Scratch Perry, Los Lobos, The Shapeshifters, Buckethead, Mike Watt, Run-DMC, Buju Banton, Mixmaster Mike, The Abbysinnians and Fishbone, Bargain has done nine national tours and five regional tours. Working with producer Mike Watt on their first album, 77 003, they turned over some tracks to Mad Professor (Lee Perry, Massive Attack) for some dub mixes that were released on Cook The Beans, a collection of re-mixes and unreleased songs. The current line-up is Josh-vocals and melodica, Matt-Bass, Todd-Drums, and Zippy-Guitar. In late 2005, a friend of Josh's asked him to record some acoustic songs at a studio he was working at in Northern California, Prairie Sun Studios, that had recorded such artists as Tom Waits, Paul McCartney, Wu Tang Clan, Neko Case, The Melvins and Faith No More. A few months later, Josh brought six songs from that session to Cornerstone RAS and asked them if they'd like to help finish the record and put it out. Josh went back up to the Prairie Sun for one more day to finish American Born. All the songs were recorded in the studio in one full take and the result is a very personal album featuring four new originals, and old Bargain favorites done up all new, and a handful of covers that have stuck with Josh through the years. In 2007 the band stopped playing shows and released a final record titled Epilogue.

source:Bargain Music's Myspace

Santa Ana
Bargain Music Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I fell in love in Santa Ana
The girl was just my type
Then we made love in Santa Ana
The shit went on all night
And then she said to me
Oh Joshua can't you see
I'm the kind of girl you should marry
A twenty year old girly

I felt like Mr. Furley
Looking at Janet and Terri

Well I got lost in Santa Ana
Trying to find a payphone
A victorious soldier in Santa Ana
Hoping to find his way home
Well I saw Condre's bug
And gave home boy a hug
Haven't seen him for about a year now
I said well check it yo
I've been walking toe to toe
You can always count on me bro

Well he and I left Santa Ana
And Long Beach was just in sight
I said what the hell were you doing in Santa Ana
Something just wasn't right
He said there's this mommy there
With long flowing auburn hair
And a blond streak down the left side
He talked some other biz
And I knew that my girl was his
Check it later dog thanks for the ride

Well this girl of ours
Her name was Adriana
Would mess up a friendship that's tight
I met her through my friend Susana
Who called me the very next night
She said I swear it's true
What I'm about to drop on you
Your little girlfriends got scandalous habit
A sorted tale is this
About where she likes to piss
And at Jeff's house she revealed it
While he poured himself a drink
And I pissed in his bathroom sink
Even though the air of romance wafted inside
Well the old sink didn't hold
And the girl got knocked out cold
Got to go now the ambulance has arrived

Oooohhh, Adriana

Oh no, no no
Oooohhh, Santa Ana

Overall Meaning

In the opening lyrics of Bargain Music's "Santa Ana," the singer initially appears to be reminiscing about a steamy night of passion in the titular city, but the story soon takes a more complex turn. When the girl suggests they should marry, the singer is taken aback - this is far from a one-night stand. The reference to "Mr. Furley," a character from the hit TV sitcom Three's Company, is an indication of his growing sense of confusion and discomfort with the situation. This theme of feeling adrift is continued when the singer becomes lost in Santa Ana looking for a payphone. The lyrics suggest a sense of aimlessness and suggests something may be off.

Later in the song, the singer and his friend Condre are driving away from Santa Ana when they discuss the singer's love interest with the long hair and the blond streak. The friend reveals that the girl has a scandalous habit that involves urination, much to the singer's surprise. Further illustrating the theme of betrayal, it is revealed that she revealed the habit to the singer's friend Jeff while the singer peed in his bathroom sink, which led to her getting knocked out.

Overall, "Santa Ana" tells a story of love, lust, and betrayal, but also of a sense of confusion and displacement. The lyrics hint at the idea that sometimes we do things and get involved with people that are not entirely healthy for us, and the consequences can be dire.

Line by Line Meaning

I fell in love in Santa Ana
I found my true love in the city of Santa Ana.

The girl was just my type
She was my ideal girl.

Then we made love in Santa Ana
We engaged in sexual activity in Santa Ana.

The shit went on all night
We had sex for an extended period of time.

And then she said to me
The girl then spoke to me.

Oh Joshua can't you see
She addressed me by my name and asked me if I could see something.

I'm the kind of girl you should marry
She claimed to be the kind of girl I should consider marrying.

A twenty year old girly
She revealed that she was a young girl of twenty years.

I felt like Mr. Furley
I felt like a character from the American television sitcom "Three's Company" upon hearing her talk about marriage.

Looking at Janet and Terri
I relate this to another set of characters from the same television sitcom.

Well I got lost in Santa Ana
I ended up getting lost in the city of Santa Ana.

Trying to find a payphone
I was attempting to locate a payphone to make a call.

A victorious soldier in Santa Ana
I felt like a triumphant soldier navigating the city.

Hoping to find his way home
I was looking for the right direction to find my way back home.

Well I saw Condre's bug
I spotted Condre's Volkswagen Beetle.

And gave home boy a hug
I greeted him warmly with a hug.

Haven't seen him for about a year now
It had been a year since I had last seen Condre.

I said well check it yo
I had something to tell Condre.

I've been walking toe to toe
I shared my recent experience of wandering the streets of Santa Ana.

You can always count on me bro
I reassured him that I am always available to help.

Well he and I left Santa Ana
Condre and I eventually left the city.

And Long Beach was just in sight
We could see Long Beach, our next destination, in the distance.

I said what the hell were you doing in Santa Ana
I was curious as to why Condre had been in Santa Ana.

Something just wasn't right
I had a feeling that something was off.

He said there's this mommy there
Condre explained that there was a woman he was interested in Santa Ana.

With long flowing auburn hair
Condre described the physical attributes of the woman.

And a blond streak down the left side
He pointed out a distinctive physical trait of the woman's hair.

He talked some other biz
Condre shared more details of his encounter with the woman.

And I knew that my girl was his
I realized that the woman Condre was interested in was the girl I had slept with earlier in Santa Ana.

Check it later dog thanks for the ride
I thanked him for the ride and made plans to save the discussion for later.

Well this girl of ours
I referred to our mutual acquaintance - the woman that Condre and I had both encountered.

Her name was Adriana
I identified the girl by name.

Would mess up a friendship that's tight
Adriana's actions would cause damage to a once-close friendship.

I met her through my friend Susana
I had originally met Adriana through my friend, Susana.

Who called me the very next night
Susana had reached out to me shortly after my encounter with Adriana.

She said I swear it's true
Susana was making a serious claim.

What I'm about to drop on you
She announced she was about to tell me something very important.

Your little girlfriends got scandalous habit
Susana informed me of Adriana's indiscretions.

A sorted tale is this
The story she had to tell was an unpleasant one.

About where she likes to piss
She described Adriana's unusual preference for urinating in inappropriate places.

And at Jeff's house she revealed it
Adriana had behaved inappropriately at Jeff's house.

While he poured himself a drink
Specifically while Jeff was making himself a drink.

And I pissed in his bathroom sink
Adriana had used Jeff's bathroom sink as a toilet.

Even though the air of romance wafted inside
Despite the romantic atmosphere, Adriana chose to urinate inappropriately.

Well the old sink didn't hold
The sink was not capable of holding the weight or volume of urine.

And the girl got knocked out cold
Adriana became unconscious after some type of physical reaction, perhaps related to the pungent smell of the urine.

Got to go now the ambulance has arrived
Susana concluded the phone call by stating that an ambulance had arrived to attend to Adriana's medical needs.

Oooohhh, Adriana
This repeated refrain is simply calling out the name of Adriana.

Oh no, no no
This expression of regret is also directed towards Adriana.

Oooohhh, Santa Ana
The song ultimately returns to the city of Santa Ana - the central setting of the narrative.

Contributed by Adam B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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