Leaving LA – English Lyrics

• By: Father John Misty
• Album: Pure Comedy

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a linguistic and emotional journey with Father John Misty's "Leaving LA." This 13-minute lyrical masterpiece offers a unique opportunity to explore complex themes of self-awareness, disillusionment, and cultural critique through its dense and poetic English verses. What makes this song special is its unflinching honesty and intricate narrative, providing a rich text for language learners to delve into advanced vocabulary and metaphorical expression.

[English]

♪ I was living on the hill ♪

♪ By the water tower and hiking trails ♪

♪ 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 going to 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 the 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 want to be that guy but it's my birthday ♪

♪ If everything ends with the photo then I'm on my way ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ 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 ♪

♪ 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 spotlights ♪

♪ Maya, the mother of illusions, a beard, and I ♪

♪ 2000 years or so since Ovid taught ♪

♪ Night-blooming, teenage rosebuds, dirty talk ♪

♪ And I'm merely 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 ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ 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 AM ♪

♪ I've never seen 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 fail completely
illusion /ɪˈluːʒən/ C1	noun - something that appears real but is not
fascination /ˌfæsɪˈneɪʃən/ C1	noun - a powerful attraction or interest
critic /ˈkrɪtɪk/ B1	noun - a person who judges or evaluates artistic works
manufacture /ˌmænjuˈfæktʃər/ B2	verb - to produce goods using machines or industrial processes
praise /preɪz/ B2	verb - to express approval or admiration for someone or something
myth /mɪθ/ B2	noun - a traditional story explaining a belief or natural phenomenon
mask /mɑːsk/ B1	noun - a covering for the face, especially to hide identity verb - to hide or disguise something
collapse /kəˈlæps/ B2	noun - a sudden failure or breakdown
violence /ˈvaɪələns/ B2	noun - behavior involving physical force intended to hurt or damage
collapse /kəˈlæps/ B2	verb - to fall apart or fail suddenly
debut /ˈdeɪ.bjuː/ B2	noun - a first public appearance or performance
gasp /ɡɑːsp/ C1	noun - a sudden intake of breath, usually due to shock
treasure /ˈtrɛʒər/ B1	noun - something valuable or precious
tragedy /ˈtrædʒədi/ B2	noun - a very sad event or situation

Key Grammar Structures

• When the big one hit I'd have a seat to watch masters abandon their dogs.

  ➔ Third conditional (past hypothetical situation).

  ➔ The phrase 'I'd have a seat' is a contraction of 'I would have', describing what the speaker would do if the big one hit.

• Leave under the gaze of the billboard queens.

  ➔ Imperative mood.

  ➔ The verb 'Leave' commands or urges someone to take action, expressing direct instruction.

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

  ➔ Modal verb 'should' (advice or obligation).

  ➔ The word 'should' expresses mild obligation or suggestion that someone do something.

• You're going to need one or the other to survive.

  ➔ Future intention with 'be going to'.

  ➔ 'You're going to need' predicts a future necessity or intention.

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

  ➔ Past simple with time clause.

  ➔ 'When I started this' introduces a specific past time linked to the action 'thought'.

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

  ➔ Present simple with demonstrative pronoun 'here'.

  ➔ 'Here’s' introduces immediate evidence or emphasis on presence in the moment.

• It’ll be good to get more space.

  ➔ Future simple 'will' expressing opinion or prediction.

  ➔ The contraction 'It’ll' means 'It will' and expresses an expectation about the future.

• I've never seen Sunset this abandoned.

  ➔ Present perfect tense.

  ➔ The form 'I've never seen' shows an experience up to the present moment.