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Christmas in Hanoi

by Lewis the Light

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1.
Oh you gotta keep your voice down you are talking too loud you can hear his car from a mile away no one dares to show their faces in these streets Oh we are all in a state of suspense I can see the light in your eyes Oh it just gets darker now it just gets darker now In the alleyway he shows his body in the alleyway it is a reason to come home late in the alleyway it is just a dream I still see all their faces on the street He was a nasty drinker every night It may be a disaster to go slow now Oh the wind you can feel it on your face All the old people plug their ears and hide under their blankets Oh they know better they know better She dressed like a queen sometimes you can see her saying "well, well, well..." sometimes you can see her saying "well, well, well..." Its all for western currency Doing it all for western currency Hey went straight to the club ordered a drink we got in a car together we didn't stay long we got in the car together we both had different goals but we ended in the same alley we ended in the same alley There was never a time it wasn't like this and you see her again saying "well, well, well..." oh you see her again she says "well, well, well..." doing it all for western currency doing it all for western currency There was never a time it wasn't like this Oh there was never a time when it wasn't like this Oh your money is running short and you've got no place to go Your money is running short and you've got no place to go Into the alley and it gets dark Into the alley where no one shows their face Into the alley she says "well, well, well..." We got in the car together we got a long way to go we got in the car together we had a long way to go Oh it would be a disaster to go slow now All for western currency All for western currency Into the dark alley and you show everything Into the dark alley Dark alley western currency Dark alley western currency Well, well, well... Dark alley western currency well, well, well...
2.
Oh he calmly takes a shortcut through the park He calmly takes a cigarette out of his pocket You see it all from a distance and the air just kind of sits there doing nothing The lights slowly die off into the haze you take your time to walk around the lake Oh and I, I do the same It helps me to get through the night It helps me get through the night Here comes the sirens now here comes the flashing lights There is a glow in the eastern sky you had your time and I had mine you had your time and I had mine We walk by each other there on the north side of the lake It helps me get through the night It helps me get through the night
3.
Symbols 02:24
Out in the ether it still comes for you We had our hearts on our sleeves we had our hearts they were beating Three days later when they came for you I was already on on the next page walking underneath trees Oh you could see this you could see this as a symbol He seizes me on the shoulders he seizes all kinds of desperate solutions I am not spiritual or political at this time Oh in it's place it will find something it will find something I make my way to the airport This is what happens when the bombs go off they are not symbols they are not symbols of anything They are not symbols of anything
4.
Narrow World 01:45
5.
Oh we get through the night take the stars and turn them off Thi sleeps through the day but it doesn't really matter Thi sleeps through another day and again it doesn't really matter We will get through another night take the moon and turn it's lights off Oh see up in the night sky It's trying to do it's damage It is trying And Thi sleeps through another day and in the end it doesn't really mater And Thi sleeps through the day and again it doesn't matter We will get through the night I'm just waiting on October Tell a joke, no one is listening Tell a joke, no one is listening Oh burn out the stars Thi thinks that is a good idea Thi is awake at 12 a.m. but to be honest it doesn't matter We will make it through the night Oh take the moon from the sky Those things in the air stay away from us Those things in the will stay away from us
6.
We are a long way from the ocean now It was in the back streets near the train station two men rolling dice for a women Oh they weren't wrong they weren't wrong The rain falls on the tin roof I am in the city and I am seeing everything Oh you are asleep and this is a dream Oh you are asleep and this is a dream Oh this is a dream This is a dream She walks through deserted back streets Under a wide roof two bodies asleep under raincoats Where is the money why did you bring him so late Where is the money why did you bring him so late Oh you are asleep and this is a dream Oh you are asleep and this is a dream and this is a dream People crowd around him someone is giving out food time passes, one hour, and then two the rain starts up and the sky grows lighter it is almost morning the souls down here they go to heaven too the souls down here they go to heaven too There are two policemen they hide from the rain you go back to sleep this is just a dream you go back to sleep and this is just a dream you go back to sleep and this is just a dream this is just a dream
7.
You found the right place You can go either way either way you want He came from the underground no one saw him we still got like a half hour left before the morning Oh I am still afraid of ghosts and I know you are too This is the sound of footsteps approaching How much is too much even girls in Saigon don't cost this much What is your hurry there is no need to be romantic what should I call you I take it from your silence that no names are needed Oh I am afraid of ghosts and I know you are too I am afraid of ghosts and I know you are too but that is just the wind that is just the wind
8.
I guess I went blind there in the early morning light Stand up straight you are starting to slump we only have so much time It is time to buckle up time to tie your shoes or we will be here all day I walked down a side street it opened up and there was a Cathedral in the middle of a square I was old world touched and this is old world too Here comes the sun again Oh it is that part of the day We were out by the office buildings way on the other side of the lake You have time I know enough time to ask for directions This might get better but on the other hand no one will know You had some kind of awkward body language I don't know what you are trying to say you stare at your phone and let yourself drift away Oh move your eyes up to my face and just look out at the city It is hard to be here and somewhere else all at once The flies just stay inside the restaurant but you do not you are lying on the floor just trying to get attention in front of us the city just takes it's time in front of us all these people Here comes the light down the side street bouncing off windows here comes the light it just makes it inside just in time just in time
9.
Oh you only go one speed you got the gas wide open Flying through the city at night looking at the sky to track the time I remember just like it was yesterday Oh the street is so long it has been years yeah, it has been years You see him lying on the ground all this, all this is maybe just temporary I realize nothing changes You can take this brick and burn it mix it with blood you got to mix it with something Oh the night flies by and you stare at the sky all to track the time but time goes by just as fast as you on that motorbike
10.
Everything everything looks the same broken sidewalks puddles of stagnant water the same walls and leaky roofs and trees wrapped around light poles I have no time no time to spare Oh the night the night gives off sparks and all the motorbikes overwhelm the sidewalks all the cars are parked haphazardly I have no time I have no time to spare Oh but I still stalk around on the street staring at houses and the faces of people I am never going to meet I keep walking toward the outskirts of the city Oh the night throws off sparks it envelopes me The night throws off sparks and envelopes me I keep walking following railroad tracks but the night it envelopes me it envelopes me The road let me straight for miles it was endless I thought of nothing I thought of nothing I have no time I have no time I have no time to spare
11.
All the lights go off on the other side of town I am on the edge and I know you are too There are only so many times you can wander around the lake by yourself I took a back street there is that store that sells only Christmas stuff Now the lights come on again You sit out on the balcony of the coffee shop by yourself until 5 a.m. Oh it is Christmas in Hanoi Oh it is Christmas in Hanoi Oh it is Christmas in Hanoi it is Christmas in Hanoi There is a purpose to this story but you know not what it is Next time you sit at the bar you watch some Australians get into a fistfight You leave at 3 a.m. and still have 5 hours to waste so you take another walk all the way around the lake

about

In late November and early December 2018 I was in Hanoi, Vietnam for a week or so. This album is about a picture of a small store on a back street that only sells Christmas stuff. About wandering the streets of the old quarter at night, dodging motorbikes and stumbling off of sidewalks. Dark alleys and unseen lives. Walking around the lake in the early evening. Drinking coffee at 3 a.m. on the balcony of a coffee shop looking out on the city. The city and life changing quickly right before your eyes. And all you can do is keep walking the same streets over and over just trying but failing to keep up. Sound-wise I was trying to make this a little bit more psychedelic than usual, but also sad bedroom dream poppy and folky at the same time. Extra bad sounding drum machines and lo-if synth sounds stretched a little bit too far. Some lyrical ideas from Night, Again by Linh Dinh and The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh.

Recorded: February - May, 2021 - San Francisco, CA

Instruments used: microKorg synthesizer, acoustic guitar, wood flute, free online drum machine

credits

released June 4, 2021

Hanoi
Wandering the side streets of the old quarter at night, dodging motorbikes and stumbling off sidewalks
A store selling only Christmas stuff
Night, Again - Linh Dinh
II - Föllakzoid
The Sorrow of War - Bao Ninh
Last Time I Saw Grace - New Bums
Uncommon Weather - The Reds, Pinks & Purples
Walking around the lake in the early evening

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Lewis the Light San Francisco, California

"Satisfied with his care and the width of his belly, Lewis escaped and returned to San Francisco, where he was arrested after ripping open his clothing and asking passersbys to witness the divine light that burned in his breast."

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