Anacostia River Blues
New Year's Resolutions and River Mysteries
Lyrics
The house was lit up blue and it was purple like a bruise
The house was brightly illuminated with blue light, resembling a bruise that is purple in color.
Tumbleweeds of bodies tangled up in every room
A chaotic scene with bodies scattered and intertwined like tumbleweeds in every room.
It was new years eve, and it smelled like sweat and weed
On New Year's Eve, the atmosphere was a mix of the smell of sweat and weed.
And curled up in the corner I saw you
Discovering someone curled up in the corner, presumably the narrator saw you.
Getting drunk like Baudelaire on anything you could
You were consuming alcohol heavily, reminiscent of Baudelaire, and using any available substance.
Hidden like an landmine on a mattress made of wood
Being concealed like a hidden danger (landmine) on a wooden mattress.
You offered your hand, a contract I didn't understand
You extended your hand, presenting a contract or gesture that the narrator didn't fully comprehend.
But I kissed it just like I knew I should
The narrator kissed your hand as if it was expected or customary.
You said you had some trouble
You revealed that you were facing some problems or difficulties.
You said you had some powder
Indicating possession of a substance, possibly drugs (powder).
You said you knew a way to get away
You suggested a way to escape or find a solution to the troubles.
You said that once I finished
Upon completion of a task, throw a pistol into the river.
Throw the pistol in the river
Discarding the pistol in the river and reporting it as stolen the next day.
Report it stolen the very next day
Describing an action taken after finishing a task involving the pistol.
I blinked and woke up driving, blood of a man I didn't know
Waking up while driving, with the narrator covered in the blood of an unknown man.
Was sticky across my face just like a squirrel killed in the snow
The blood on the narrator's face is sticky, likened to a squirrel killed in the snow.
It was new years day, and I was on my way
It's New Year's Day, and the narrator is en route to a specified location.
To the room where you instructed me to go
Heading to the room as instructed by you.
I didn't catch your name and I didn't give you mine
The narrator didn't exchange names with you.
Your lipstick stained the smoldering cigarette you left behind
Your lipstick left a mark on a smoldering cigarette you abandoned.
Like a kiss in the wind, the only clue that you had been
Your presence is subtle, leaving behind only a lipstick-stained cigarette as evidence.
Anything other than a ghost in my mind
You exist in the narrator's thoughts as more than a ghost.
Now I'm in a jailhouse and it's valentine's day
The narrator is in jail on Valentine's Day.
The pistol's in the Anacostia and that's where it's gonna stay
The pistol is in the Anacostia River, and that's where it will remain.
The funny thing is, I had a resolution
Ironically, despite having a resolution, the narrator is in a difficult situation.
To take a holiday
The resolution was to take a holiday, but the events unfolded differently.
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