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Knocked Out in the First Round

from Soul In Exile 3: Love Runs Aground by The Hesh Inc.

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about

The next song up is called “Knocked Out In The First Round.” Pianos set the tone before Sparber and Kieffer come in to carry things away. Once the band is completely in, Hesh stretches out for a vocal exercise in quality lyrics and tone. Once again his subject is the Shore, but he tells the story of what was and what is left over now. Lots of “used to be” but it’s all necessary and vital. Between holding out for improvement over “Amusement” Hesh tells the real story of what goes on in that little “City by the Sea.” Lavengood’s middle-eight lead break is all him, combining single-string breaks with bends and melodic voicings before Peckman comes in to take things into his direction. Hesh comes back to finish things off as only he can do and it’s a great song.

~John Pfeiffer, The Aquarian Weekly

lyrics

When I saw that above-mentioned vision, I must have gone blind
When I heard it on the highway I nearly lost my mind
I was knocked out in the first round
Dead before I hit the ground
Knocked out in the first round
And I left what I once was behind

I saw the boardwalk lying empty like an unplowed field
I saw the casino’s doors all shut and sealed
I was knocked out in the first round
When I saw what became of my old town
Something got stolen and I couldn’t live it down
And it burned like a scar unhealed

There was a circle on the floor where the carousel used to be
There was G-d-only-knows-what where dad’s hotel used to be
There was just dirty water where the bumper boats used to be
There were cruisers and dealers where the rollercoaster used to be
The ferris wheel used to be
The pier of steel used to be
The sky ride, the high dive, this town’s appeal used to be
I don’t want to be a Used To Be

The true believers all come by busload and caravan
And it seems like every one of them has got a plan
But they’re all knocked out in the first round
When they see the disparities that still abound
Ready once again to burn it all to the ground
They don’t care, just as long as they see their man

Everybody holds out hope for some improvement
But nobody holds out any hope for any new amusement
It’s all knocked out in the first round
They bulldozed the Palace down
All they saved was the Tillie grin from the silly old clown
Now it’s all history but hey, at least there’s movement

There are upscale condos where the Monterey used to be
There are upscale condos where Net Lane’s used to be
There are upscale condos in what the Berkeley used to be
There are upscale condos where the St. James used to be
There’s upscale where everything we knew used to be
There’s upscale and more upscale as far as the eye can see
Maybe what’s better is what Used To Be

So here I am, still in my position as a rock’n’roll singer
A piano player in the place where my soul still stubbornly lingers
I wanna make sure my glory days don’t fade away
I wanna make sure my glory days are here to stay
I wanna make sure my glory days keep on being glory days
‘Cause they’re slipping right through my fingers

C-8 meets C-4 and then—implosion
Another piece of a broken dream falls into the ocean
We’re all knocked out in the first round
Dead before we hit the ground
Knocked out in the first round
Flat out cold still on the way down
Knocked out in the first round
Fall like bricks but without a sound
Knocked out in the first round
What I saw when I finally came back to this town
Knocked out in the first round
So much happened since then but I still can’t live it down
Knocked out in the first round
Oh … knocked out!


©2017 The Hesh Inc.

credits

from Soul In Exile 3: Love Runs Aground, released March 10, 2017
Hesh Meister—piano, organ, vocals
Izzy Kieffer—drums
Steve Lopresto—bass
Lane Sparber—electric and acoustic guitars
PK Lavengood—lead guitar
Steve Peckman—saxophone

Recorded at Retromedia Sound Studios, Red Bank, New Jersey
Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Adam Vaccarelli

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The Hesh Inc. New Jersey

Songwriter, performer, keyboard player, beach enthusiast, perpetual transplant, aspiring cult figure.

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