Handheld Recordings, Vol. 1: The Hotel Life

by Eliot Eidelman

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1.	6:44 AM at the Highland Inn 02:30	lyrics
It's 6:44 AM at the Highland Inn I've been here since midnight Another '40s film on TCM welcomes in the daylight I'm looking at black-and-white ghosts piped in from another dimension speaking in gibberish at me I don't know what they're saying Another cocktail party, another sordid affair in the hotel lobby I don't know if I'm sleeping on the job or in a trance just trying to awaken my cinephiliac hobby by staring at black-and-white ghosts piped in from another dimension speaking in gibberish at me I don't know what they're trying to tell me At 8 o'clock the boss walks in picks up the remote and turns the TV off saying, "Man, I don't know how you can stay awake watching this stuff." I just sleepily smile back at him and grab my backpack I've got nothing to say in response I don't even know if I remember how to speak English I've lost it looking at the black-and-white ghosts piped in from another dimension speaking in gibberish at me And if you go down to Atlanta, Georgia and spend a night at the Highland Inn on North Highland Avenue If you go down to the lobby at 6:44 AM in the morning for the complimentary continental breakfast or whatever you might see Vic or me looking at the black-and-white ghosts piped in from another dimension speaking in gibberish at me
2.	A Pain in the Ass 03:58	lyrics
I thought I knew where I came from I thought I'd seen how far I'd come but when it started to rain it started to pour I don't know my mind or my heart anymore It's a pain in the ass It's a pain in the assets It's a pain oooooh in the ass I thought I'd been where I should go and I thought I'd felt what I should know but when it started to rain it started to pour and I don't know my mind or my heart anymore and it's a pain in the ass It's a pain in the assets It's a pain oooooh in the ass I spent time alone in the desert I spent time alone in the hills I spend time alone when we're together but nothing seems to change the way I feel I spent time alone in the mountains I spent time alone in a cave I spend time alone by the fountain of light but nothing seems to change how I behave Oh, what a pain When I'm alone I see the sun come up When I'm alone it's a brand new day When I'm alone I hear the morning birds When I'm alone I can hear them say It's going to rain, it's going to pour You don't know your mind or your art anymore When I'm alone I see the clouds come out When I'm alone they fill up the sky When I'm alone my mind is full of doubt and when I'm alone I know how to cry It's starting to rain, It's starting to pour and you don't know your mind or your art anymore It's a pain in the ass It's a pain
3.	And I Still Don't Know 03:32	lyrics
And I don't know where to go And I don't see what to be And I love you so but I still don't know where to go or what to be And you mean and you mean and you mean and you mean and you mean everything to me There's an endless buffet leading to the white house You can take what you need and disregard the rest There are Asian delicacies, cured meats and fancy cheeses and I'm late for a session so I walk barefoot upon them There's a Kawasaki tractor blocking the driveway and he can't hear me honking so I take out the front yard And everything was shining And everything was so informed by the light of the moon And everything was so And I still don't know where to go And I still don't see what to be And I love you so but I still don't know where to go or what to be And you mean and you mean and you mean and you mean and you mean and you mean and you mean everything to me
4.	The Sea of Dicks Song 01:49	lyrics
You picked me out of the sea of dicks You picked mine out of the sea of dicks, you Please make it quick Please get to the point of the song where I go love love love love fuck fuck fuck fuck yeah, whoa you love love love love to fuck fuck fuck fuck yeah, whoa you whoa, you picked me out of the sea of dicks, oooh you picked me out of the sea of dicks, oooh
5.	Summertime's Here Again Blues 02:29	lyrics
Summertime's here again Sipping beers with your friends Hazy days smokin J's Summer nights, fire flights And I feel like we've been here before I can tell by the writing on the door We've fallen Summertime's here today Pack your bags, go vacay At the beach, out of reach At the bar, gone too far And I feel like we've been here before I can tell by the writing on the door We've fallen
6.	In Savannah, Oh Susanna 03:40	lyrics
We went out to a fancy dinner in a big old house The waiter thought I was someone famous so he gave us free dessert and a tour of the joint Ghosts in the basement and a wedding banquet hall upstairs as the rest of my life flashed before my eyes and I imagined you standing there as my Southern bride or maybe it was just some 19th century ghost bride who looked kinda like you refrain: I love you still so much my dear and I wish that we could be back here together in Savannah, oh Susanna In your rainbow bikini on Tybee Beach drinkin sandy cans of beer and suckin on frozen strawberries splashin in the waves in that murky brown bath water The summers are so hot here in Savannah Oh Susanna We went back to our hotel on the riverbank Cool A.C., just you and me and a freshly-made bed to escape this oppressive heat maybe even turn the TV on Underneath the Spanish moss on the live oak trees everyone seems to stop and say hi we even see the same shiba inu twice The second time in a graveyard when it's raining refrain In your low-backed dress on the elevator we laugh about that thing that just happened with our waiter who thought that I was famous and rich when in reality I could just get by on appetizers and leave a medium tip On the way back to Atlanta we stopped by Flannery O'Connor's place Chillin with the peafowl I looked up and saw her face in the window of her bedroom It kinda freaked me out and haunts me still refrain
7.	I Like My Life 02:50	lyrics
I like my life I've got a job that's fun and easy I don't pay rent or utilities I live in the last American city that's still fun and cheap I like my life I've got a happy baby mama She gives me everything I want, yeah I even get free marijuana 'cause I'm fun and cheap I like my life Whoa, hon and yeah, son I like my life
8.	Stranger Things Have Happened 02:23	lyrics
Stranger things have happened in Atlanta in 2016 Stranger things are happening here, they're happening to me I started seeing you walking by my hotel and we started going out for drinks I don't know what I did to earn you as my friend but it means a lot to me that stranger things have happened in Atlanta in 2016 Stranger things are happeing here, they're happening to me I started dreaming of you being in my life and you started being there for me I don't know what I did to win you as my friend but you mean a lot to me Stranger things have happened in Atlanta in 2016 Stranger things are happening here, they're happening to me I know that some day I am gonna be a star then finally both of us will be until then I'm just glad to have you as my friend and you mean a lot to me
9.	Janie Rutherford 03:03	lyrics
Janie Rutherford was just 17 years old when her mother took her baby away She'd been sleepin' 'round, doing all kinds of drugs so her mother had to take that baby away and oh how Janie cried like a baby yes she cried herself to sleep each night and it made poor Janie go damn near crazy just to have that baby out of her sight It wasn't alright It wasn't alright with Janie Janie Rutherford was just 17 years old when she chose to start attending AA She was still drinkin, druggin, and fuckin all the time but at least she never missed her AA and oh how Janie cried like a baby yes she cried herself to sleep each night and it made poor Janie go damn near crazy just to have that baby out of her sight It wasn't alright It wasn't alright with Janie Janie Rutheford was just 19 years old when the needle laid her down in her grave She'd given up, she'd never even had a chance so the needle had to lay her down in her grave and oh how Janie's mom cried like a baby yes she cried herself to sleep each night and it made poor Janie's mom damn near crazy just to have that baby out of her sight It wasn't alright It wasn't alright with Janie's mom no, it wasn't alright and it wasn't alright with Janie
10.	Such a Believer Beheld 04:42	lyrics
Well I don't know much but I do know my facts I follow them blindly and I never look back and I've got my problems but they haven't got me I cling to my freedom like a bird in a tree Oh, such a believer Such a believer beheld Well if I know anything, it's this right here You take what you're given and you give up on fear and I don't know anyone in the wide world without that could end your illusions without entering doubt Oh, such a believer Such a believer beheld My mind it is empty, my days they are done My body's unending and I've only begun and if for some reason you could stand in my place then you wouldn't have to worry for the whole human race Oh, such a believer Such a believer beheld Oh, such a believer Such a believer beheld The day is now dark, it's the end of the road You're probably wonderin where you're supposed to go Well if you're not covered for the end of all time just tilt your head forward til you reach the divine Oh, such a believer Such a believer beheld Oh, such a believer Such a believer beheld And when the rain falls down something else follows you down And when the rain's falling down something else follows you down and around Something else follows you down
11.	Follow Your Feelings/The Hotel Life 03:43	lyrics
I am waiting to write the song that will change my life I am waiting to write the song that will change my life And if you follow your feelings people think you're crazy They've got no reason to them anyway And if you follow your heart the people gonna tear you apart but at the end of the day you'll have more left than 'em anyway And I am sorry This is all that I can do Please don't worry We're gonna make it through if we don't hurry There'll be another day Please remember and let me hear you say That if you follow your feelings people'll think you're crazy They've got no reason to them anyway And if you follow your heart the people gonna tear you apart but at the end of the day you'll have more left than 'em anyway And I am sorry This is all I got Please forgive me and we'll make it through the knot so don't you worry and there'll be another day Please remember and let me hear you say That living in the hotel's fine and working in the hotel's fine by me but I'd rather spend my time playing music on the road with my friends again and again and again and again and again Living in the hotel's fine and working in the hotel's fine by me but I'd rather spend my time playing music on the road with my friends again and again and again and again and again... music. road. friends. again. and again and again and again and again... I am waiting to write the song that will change my life I am waiting to write the song that will change my life
12.	Good Night My Love 01:41	lyrics
Good night my love see you when the morning comes though it's late I'm awake singing you this song Sweet dreams my beloved restful sleep to calm your thoughts and though it's late I'm still awake sending all my love

about

"Today I suggest checking out "Handheld Recordings Vol. 1: The Hotel Life", the latest album from Atlanta singer/songwriter Eliot Eidelman. The songs within are by turns hilarious, ecstatic, heartbreaking, hopeful and heartwarming, sung with and played with a commitment as full as the production is minimal. Eliot has a rare musicality as a troubadour-style musician, his guitar and voice are locked in and dynamic (his skills as a guitarist are very strong, no strum-folk here), which combined with the rich imagery and personal landscape of his lyrics make his compositions stand on their own. Occasional percussion, bass, harmonica, melodica and harmonies are icing on the cake. This album gives me serious "On The Beach" era Neil Young vibes (the unplugged sections of that record, that is), minus some of the dourness. I highly recommend listening to Eliot's whole discography, and catching him live if you can...I have had the pleasure of sharing a bill with him once when he was on the road and he is an excellent performer." -J. Moss, The Modern Folk Music of America

credits

released June 21, 2018

Recorded and mixed on a Zoom H4n Pro handheld recorder
at the Highland Inn front desk and room 129
and at "the Dacha" in Atlanta, GA, April/May, 2018
Mastered by Daniel Eaton at Little Castle Mastering, Los Angeles, CA
Artwork by Nik Nerburn

all selections published by Eliot Eidelman Music (ASCAP)
EEMU-008