The first time that I heard this week’s song, I knew it was something special. The way it follows the history of a thoroughfare, from boom to bust, is storytelling at its best.

Enjoy Telegraph Road by Dire Straits.

A long time ago came a man on a track
Walking thirty miles with a sack on his back
And he put down his load where he thought it was the best
Made a home in the wilderness

He built a cabin and a winter store
And he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore
And the other travellers came walking down the track
And they never went further, no, they never went back

Then came the churches, then came the schools
Then came the lawyers, then came the rules
Then came the trains and the trucks with their load
And the dirty old track was the Telegraph Road

Then came the mines, then came the ore
Then there was the hard times, then there was a war
Telegraph sang a song about the world outside
Telegraph Road got so deep and so wide
Like a rolling river

And my radio says tonight it’s gonna freeze
People driving home from the factories
There’s six lanes of traffic
Three lanes moving slow

I used to like to go to work but they shut it down
I’ve got a right to go to work but there’s no work here to be found
Yes, and they say we’re gonna have to pay what’s owed
We’re gonna have to reap from some seed that’s been sowed

And the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles
They can always fly away from this rain and this cold
You can hear them singing out their telegraph code
All the way down the Telegraph Road

Well, I’d sooner forget, but I remember those nights
Yeah, life was just a bet on a race between the lights
You had your hand on my shoulder, you had your hand in my hair
Now you act a little colder like you don’t seem to care

But just believe in me baby and I’ll take you away
From out of this darkness and into the day
From these rivers of headlights, these rivers of rain
From the anger that lives on the streets with these names
‘Cause I’ve run every red light on memory lane
I’ve seen desperation explode into flames
And I don’t wanna see it again

From all of these signs saying “Sorry but we’re closed”
All the way down the Telegraph Road

If you have a favorite song that features entertaining or clever lyrics which you’d like to see featured as a Lyric of the Week, drop me a line in the comments (or email me at ed@suitcasefullofdimes.com) and tell me what you find special about the song.

It took a call to the twitterverse to remind me of the brilliance of Jellyfish. So many great songs for such a short-lived band, how do you choose? Thankfully, I didn’t have to choose.

Big thanks to Rich Horton (@PurePopPub) for this week’s suggestion.

Enjoy New Mistake by Jellyfish.

Curtain opens, spotlights the gentleman
Signing his love letter “Best wishes, Simpleton”
Dialog swam from his pen like pollywogs
He knew better that perfume was gravity
Pulling him closer to what could be tragedy
Love is blind, deaf and dumb, but never mind

You better catch me when I fall
I’m on my roller skates
‘Cause any ole way that I fall
I land in your arms even though it’s wrong
‘Cause I love my new mistake

Intermission gave way to a miracle
The birth of an accident grew to a spectacle
That couldn’t wait
The mother was three weeks late
So Father Mason clutching his crucifix
Baptized the baby in whiskey and licorice
What a lovely way
Drowning sins in tooth decay

Looks like our hero’s gonna fall
The bough’s about to break
‘Cause any ole way that I fall
I’ll be in your arms as we lie awake
With our lovely new mistake

You better catch me when I fall
My sugar trampoline
‘Cause any ole way that I fall
I land in your arms even though it’s wrong
‘Cause I love my new mistake

The ending turned tragic when many years later
The baby had grown up and married a pop singer
I guess it was her turn to make (her first mistake)

Any ole time at all
Any ole way that I fall
Any ole time at all
Any ole way that I fall
Any ole time at all
Any ole way that I fall
I just lie awake with my new mistake

If you have a favorite song that features entertaining lyrics which you’d like to see featured as a Lyric of the Week, drop me a line in the comments (or email me at ed@suitcasefullofdimes.com) and tell me what you find special about the song.

This week’s song is by one of my all-time favorite bands when it comes to a lyric with a nice turn-of-phrase. To this day, Chris Difford is still among the best lyricists of the last fifty years. This one was the title track to 1993’s Some Fantastic Place and it’s about an eternally optimistic friend of both Difford and Glenn Tilbrook who died of leukemia. While it’s sad and frequently gets me choked up, having lost much family and friends to cancer over the years, it’s one of those songs that assists in the grieving process, and helps to heal the deep wound left after a devastating loss.

Enjoy Some Fantastic Place by Squeeze.

She gave to me her tenderness
Her friendship and her love
I see her face from time to time
There in the sky above

We grew up learning as we went
What a voyage our life could be
It took us through a wilderness
Into the calmest sea

Her smile could lift me from the pain
I often found within
She said some things I won’t forget
She made a few bells ring

So simple her humility
Her beauty found in grace
Today she lives another life
In some fantastic place

She showed me how to raise a smile
Out of her bed of gloom
And in her garden sanctuary
A life began to bloom.

She visualized a world ahead
And planned how it would be
She left behind the strongest love
That lives eternally

I have the hope that when it’s time
For me to come her way
That she’ll be there to show me round
Whenever comes that day

Her love was life and happiness
And in her steps I trace
The way to live a better life
In some fantastic place

If you have a favorite song that features entertaining lyrics which you’d like to see featured as a Lyric of the Week, drop me a line in the comments (or email me at ed@suitcasefullofdimes.com) and tell me what you find special about the song. Maybe we’ll feature it in a future installment.

In an effort to make Suitcase Full of Dimes as much about discovery as it is about jogging the memory of the familiar, every Sunday I’ll be posting lyrics to a song that I find has a nice turn of phrase, an entertaining story line, or is just plain fun to sing along to in the shower or on the morning commute.

Since it’s a Sunday, this week’s song is one of those great songs to sing along to on the radio. I especially love the “ta ta ta ta’s” near the end.

Enjoy Pleasant Valley Sunday by The Monkees.

The local rock group down the street
Is trying hard to learn their song
They serenade the weekend squire
Who just came out to mow his lawn

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Charcoal burning everywhere
Rows of houses that are all the same
And no one seems to care

See Mrs. Gray, she’s proud today
Because her roses are in bloom
And Mr. Green, he’s so serene
He’s got a TV in every room

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Here in status symbol land
Mothers complain about how hard life is
And the kids just don’t understand

Creature comfort goals
They only numb my soul
And make it hard for me to see
My thoughts all seem to stray
To places far away
I need a change of scenery

If you have a favorite song that features entertaining lyrics which you’d like to see featured as a Lyric of the Week, drop me a line in the comments (or email me at ed@suitcasefullofdimes.com) and tell me what you find special about the song. Maybe we’ll feature it in a future installment.