Testo Souvenir - Chris Staples

Souvenir

Dad taught me how to work hard
Hot summer in a lumber yard
I turned a wrench on my first car
Picked out some chords on the guitar
I was afraid I’d be erased
If I didn’t leave this place, I
I think about it nearly every day
It’s burned on my brain like a fireplace
A thick film on everything
The residue of memory
Storefronts, hotels
Everything reminds me of something else
Baseball diamonds, waterfront parks
Cemeteries after dark
Quiet places with no name
Where long shadows remain
Homes we lived in covered in vine
All the things we left behind
Boxes stuffed with souvenirs
What is gone is all still here
What is gone is all still here
What is gone is all still here