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title: San Francsico (Where Good Men Go To Die)

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I met a boy in Illinois with perfect baby blues
He said "my name is Toby, 
I got here from old New York"
Spent my last dollar on a buss and got to the wrong airport
Flew my way to Illinois right through into the dirt
Nothing with me but a broken watch and two old torn shirts

He asked me my name and then he asked again
Said he knew it was a lie but we could still be friends
On one old cloudy day, Toby came to me
Said friend I have a secret
I said oh well lets see

He was sick for awhile now, said he left all his friends
Was going straight to San Francisco to wait for it to end
He said loved a boy from older colder winds
Knit him a scarf he'd never sell from the last of his skeins


He said, "I'll die in front of God and everyone else
I'll ache and I'll bruise and I'll cry through my last living breath
I'll keep every secret that's been given to me
And no one will fear I won't remember theirs too
I'm headed to the place where good men go to die"
He said, "I'll die in front of God and everyone else
You'll remember me by my last dying breath
I'll love everyone far after I'm gone
I'll make it all the way there and I'll be gone again soon
I'm headed to the place where good men go to die"


Toby, I swore to him, I'll get you there soon
You're not going there to die alone, oh no, no, no
Don't worry about what I've got here. My show ends by noon
We'll hitchhike a dollar a day all the way there
I'll write a song for every mile and every other storm
Nothing but you and I, a perfect traveling pair

It took us 28 days but the bay was in our view
We cried as soon as we found a place to rest
He asked me what I'd do when his time came to end
I'll go back to Illinois, I said, I'll find another friend
I'll write every song for you and then every one for them
And when I find someone new ro love
I'll sing them every other one instead


He said "I'll die in front of God and everyone else
I'll ache and I'll bruise and I'll cry through my dying breaths
I'll keep every secret that's been given to me
And no one will fear I won't remember them too
I'm in the place where good men go to die"
He said "I'll die in front of God and everyone else
You'll remember my name my face and my last dying breath
I'll love everyone far after I'm gone
I'll make it all the way there and I'll be gone again soon
I'm in the place where good men go to die"


In a softer spoke voice: And that's where the song ends. Toby died a year later in an apartment he shared with me, and four more of his friends. His bed faced San Francisco bay and two months later we spread his ashes in it, per his request. I didn't know Toby for as long as I wish I did. Even knowing he was sick, I took the time I did have for gratned. I didn't ask him enough questions about himself, where he came from, any of that. I thought I'd get him for a little bit longer. There's no real point to this song even if it sounds like there is. I just think it would be cool for other people to know him too. He was good at making friends and he never forgot to take his hair out of the shower drain. He knit us 5 pairs of gloves in one day when our heat got shut off on Christmas Eve. He burned everything he tried to cook. He was a great kisser and I'd bet he was a better lover. Since Toby, I've brought three more people to San Francisco and I've written songs about them too. I have the scarf Toby knit. If I find the boy- I'll say sorry for the stains on it.


track list for Toby Side A

1. San Francisco (Where Good Men Go To Dihe)
2. Safety Pins and Hot Glue 
3. A Bee To Honey 
4. I Loved You Yesterday
5. Needlepoint Kneecaps
6. Last Quarter Dream
7. The Caramel Scarf
8. My Sister The Lawyer
9. Good Love Is Dying
10. My, My, My (Chicago, I Love You


There is only one song on the other side of the tape. It's a mostly instrumental track filled with a fiddle and a loop of someone running in the background. Zephyr and a deeper man's voice repeat a few lines layered over each other in a smooth singing drawl, the man's voice has a Southern twinge:

I called you a lonely man (I promised Susan a ride)
I left you buried alive (Billy called half a bottle in)
Your mother swore you were better than me your sins (Don't you know that Daisy never cries)
Sweeter than the Devil's little lies (I never promised to be good to Aster)
I swear goodbyes have never come put faster (Whatever it takes to push you away faster)