Skin
J.J. Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The smell of chlorine and tangerine skins all over the floor mats
You never cleaned them up
When it was done, we'd grab the dogs and take the 17 to the country store, Mountainaire
Walking at night, those moonlit pines
You know I saw a lot of faces but you were never scared
How did it feel, turning the wheel, with no power steering, bet it made it worse
Methadone games, are you ashamed?
Why did it stop, throwing the ball across the street until a car came
You always saw it first
Change isn't free, I've got your knees
I don't remember anytime when everything worked
Where could I run, your only son, I'll carry you with me, the tower and the ghost
Some things don't change, I cannot say what it means to know you love me
You love me, Dad, I know
The lyrics to J.J. Ash’s song “Skin” explore a nostalgic and bittersweet time spent with the singer’s father. In the first verse, the singer recalls being in the passenger seat of his father’s white pickup truck with a camper on top. The truck smells of chlorine and tangerine skins which are scattered all over the floor mats. The father never cleans it up. After their journey, they take the dogs and go to the Mountainaire country store. The second verse describes the experience of driving the truck with no power steering, where the father played “Methadone games” to cope with his addiction. The singer wishes that his father had not hidden his addiction by masking it in anger and hurt. The song ends with the son reminiscing about his father after he has passed away.
The lyrics of the chorus are the most poignant in the song, with the son reflecting on the love he received from his father. He feels lost without him and knows that his father’s influence will always be with him. The song is a meditation on the complexity of familial love and relationships, with the singer feeling both deeply connected and estranged from his father.
Line by Line Meaning
What was it like, passenger side of that white pickup with the camper on top
Tell me about the memory of sitting beside you in that white truck with a camper on it
The smell of chlorine and tangerine skins all over the floor mats
I remember the aroma of chlorine mixed with the sweetness of tangerine peels that were scattered around the floor mats
You never cleaned them up
You never bothered to clean them up
When it was done, we'd grab the dogs and take the 17 to the country store, Mountainaire
After finishing our task, we would take our dogs and ride route 17 towards the Mountainaire country store
Walking at night, those moonlit pines
At night, as we walked through the moonlit forest of tall pine trees
You know I saw a lot of faces but you were never scared
I remember seeing many faces and being afraid, but you always remained fearless
How did it feel, turning the wheel, with no power steering, bet it made it worse
How did you feel turning the wheel with no power steering? I bet it made it even harder.
Methadone games, are you ashamed?
Do you feel ashamed about playing games with methadone?
You know I wish you didn't hide it with all that hurt
I wish you didn't hide your pain behind that façade of hurt.
Why did it stop, throwing the ball across the street until a car came
Why did our game of throwing the ball across the street stop when a car came?
You always saw it first
You were always the first one to spot the car
Change isn't free, I've got your knees
Change comes at a cost, and now I bear your weaknesses
I don't remember anytime when everything worked
I cannot remember a single moment when everything worked perfectly
Where could I run, your only son, I'll carry you with me, the tower and the ghost
As your only son, there is no place that I could run from carrying your memory with me, including the tower and the ghost.
Some things don't change, I cannot say what it means to know you love me
Despite the changes in life, some things remain constant, and I cannot express in words what it means to know that you love me.
You love me, Dad, I know
I know for certain that you love me, Dad.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: J LIND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joshua Hemming
And those are my eyes 🤙