Leaving LA – English Lyrics

• By: Father John Misty
• Album: Pure Comedy

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into 'Leaving LA' by Father John Misty, a lyrical journey that makes learning English both challenging and rewarding. This 13-minute track is a masterclass in introspective storytelling and complex vocabulary, offering rich insights into modern existentialism and self-critique. Its poetic verses and poignant observations provide an exceptional opportunity to grasp nuanced English expression and truly connect with a song that's as intellectually stimulating as it is musically captivating.

[English]

I was living on the hill

By the water tower and hiking trails

And when the big one hit I'd have a seat

To watch masters abandon their dogs and dogs run free

Oh baby, it's time to leave

Take the van and the hearse down to New Orleans

Leave under the gaze of the billboard queens

Five-foot chicks with parted lips selling sweatshop jeans

These L.A. phonies and their bullshit bands

That sound like dollar signs and Amy Grant

So reads the pull quote from my last cover piece

Entitled "The Oldest Man in Folk Rock Speaks"

You can hear it all over the airwaves

The manufactured gasp of the final days

Someone should tell them 'bout the time that they don't have

To praise the glorious future and the hopeless past

A few things the songwriter needs

Arrows of love, a mask of tragedy

But if you want ecstasy or birth control

Just run the tap until the water's cold

Anything else you can get online

A creation myth or a .45

You're gonna need one or the other to survive

Where only the armed or the funny make it out alive

Mara taunts me 'neath the tree

She's like, "Oh great, that's just what we all need

Another white guy in 2017

Who takes himself so goddamn seriously"

She's not far off, the strange thing is

That's pretty much what I thought when I started this

It took me my whole life to learn to play the G

But the role of Oedipus was a total breeze

Still I dreamt of garnering all rave reviews

Just believably a little north of God's own truth

He's a national treasure now, and here's the proof

In the form of his major label debut

A little less human with each release

Closing the gap between the mask and me

I swear I'll never do this, but is it okay?

Don't wanna be that guy but it's my birthday

If everything ends with a photo, then I'm on my way

Ohh-ho-o-oh oh-ho-ho-ho-oh

I watched my old gods all collapse

Were way more violent than my cartoon past

It's like my father said before he croaked

"Son, you're killing me and that's all folks"

So why is it I'm so distraught?

That what I'm selling is getting bought

At some point you just can't control

What people use your fake name for

So I never learned to play the lead guitar

I always more preferred the speaking parts

Besides, there's always someone willing to

Fill up the spaces that I couldn't use

Nonetheless, I've been practicing my whole life

Washing dishes, playing drums and getting by

Until I figured, if I'm here then I just might

Conceal my lack of skill here in the spotlight

Maya the mother of illusions, a beard and I

2,000 years or so since Ovid taught

Night-blooming, teenage rosebuds, dirty talk

And I'm not more than a minor fascination to

Manic, virginal lust and college dudes

I'm beginning to begin to see the end

Of how it all goes down between me and them

Some 10-verse, chorus-less diatribe

Plays as they all jump ship, "I used to like this guy

This new shit really kinda makes me wanna die"

Ohh-ho-o-oh oh-ho-ho-ho-oh

My first memory of music's from

The time at JCPenney's with my mom

The watermelon candy I was choking on

Barbara screaming, "Someone help my son!"

I relive it most times the radio's on

That tell me lies, sweet little white lies song

That's when I first saw the comedy won't stop for

Even little boys dying in department stores

So we leave town in total silence

New Year's Day, it's 6 o'clock a.m.

Never seen a sunset this abandoned

Reminds me predictably of the world's end

It'll be good to get more space

God knows what all these suckers paid

I can stop drinking and you can write your script

But what we both think now is

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
collapse /kəˈlæps/ B2	verb - to fall down suddenly or give way noun - a sudden failure or breakdown
abandon /əˈbændən/ B2	verb - to leave something or someone completely
gaze /ɡeɪz/ B2	noun - a steady or fixed look
illusion /ɪˈluːʒən/ C1	noun - a false idea or belief
tragedy /ˈtrædʒədi/ B2	noun - a very sad or disastrous event
ecstasy /ˈekstəsi/ C1	noun - a state of extreme happiness or joy
gasp /ɡɑːsp/ B2	verb - to breathe in suddenly with shock or surprise
survive /sərˈvaɪv/ B1	verb - to continue to live or exist despite danger or hardship
spotlight /ˈspɒtlaɪt/ B2	noun - public attention or focus on someone or something
myth /mɪθ/ B2	noun - a traditional story explaining beliefs or natural phenomena
debut /ˈdeɪbjuː/ B2	noun - a first public appearance or performance
distraught /dɪˈstrɔːt/ C1	adjective - deeply upset and agitated
illusion /ɪˈluːʒən/ C1	noun - something that misleads perception or belief
garner /ˈɡɑːrnər/ C1	verb - to collect or gather something, especially information or support
collapse /kəˈlæps/ B2	noun - a breakdown of structure or order
mask /mæsk/ B1	noun - a covering for the face, used for disguise or protection verb - to hide or disguise something

Key Grammar Structures

• I was living on the hill

  ➔ Past continuous tense to describe an action happening over a period of time in the past.

  ➔ The phrase "was living" shows an action that was ongoing at a specific time in the past.

• I'd have a seat

  ➔ Conditional modal contraction ('I would') combined with a habitual action in future context.

  ➔ The phrase "I'd have a seat" implies a habitual or repeated future action under a condition.

• Take the van and the hearse down to New Orleans

  ➔ Imperative mood used to give commands or instructions.

  ➔ The verb "Take" is a direct command telling someone to perform an action.

• If everything ends with a photo, then I'm on my way

  ➔ First conditional sentence to describe a real possibility with cause and effect.

  ➔ The "If... then..." structure shows an action that depends on a condition being true.

• A few things the songwriter needs

  ➔ Noun phrase acting as the subject with zero relative pronoun in a reduced relative clause.

  ➔ The phrase omits the relative pronoun "that" for conciseness: "things (that) the songwriter needs."

• I always more preferred the speaking parts

  ➔ Past simple tense with an adverb modifying the verb to indicate preference over time.

  ➔ The adverb "always" emphasizes a consistent preference expressed in the past action "preferred."

• Don't wanna be that guy but it's my birthday

  ➔ Contraction and informal negation "Don't wanna" representing "do not want to," indicating casual spoken style.

  ➔ "Don't wanna" combines negation and informal pronunciation to express reluctance in a casual tone.

• You can hear it all over the airwaves

  ➔ Modal verb "can" expressing ability or possibility in the present.

  ➔ "Can hear" indicates that it is possible or allowed to hear something currently.