1997 from Avalanche by Mead Lake's Most Wanted

The night was swarming with junebugs
The air was stale as a beer
You kept talking like you were a lion tamer
Waving at the crowd so cavalier

You said you wanted other people
I said just get in the car
Your smile was a switchblade as you walked away
Slicing up a sky of cold scars

That was the year I fell apart
That was the year the dam burst
And the water flooded down
Through our swampy old town
And I swore to get even

In 1997

That winter was cold as a daiquiri
The sweetness as numb as your lips
I painted our room with that red you liked
Like bloodstains on my fingertips

And with my friend I drove to Saskatchewan
To learn why your eyes were glacier blue
It’s hard to know what side you’re on
When the world is round as a bruise

That was the year of rusty hearts
And I prepared for the worst
Like water flooding down
Through our swampy old town
And your taillights as you were leavin’
In 1997

• Folk
• Wisconsin
• clusterfolk
• daiquiri
• folk rock
• indie
• junebugs
• milwaukee
• saskatchewan
• West Bend