Home Ain't Nothing When You're Not Around

Home Ain’t Nothing When You’re Not Around
Music and Lyrics by Alex Dolan Balin
June 23rd 2010

Now I was driving through the desert on my way to California
The setting sun in my eyes & my back to Arizona
I screamed "Gee Lordy Be! Ain't it great to be free?!
Blazing through the country, Burning up gasoline
Blowing speakers with this Cd,
Ain't nothing going to slow me down

(Silent Chorus)

I've lived too long alone cooped up there in Sedona
Wasting years drinking beers chugging down cheap Carona
Cause their billboards are beaches with oceans serene
But the real Pacific's something I've never seen
So I threw my guitar in to my chevy
And sped out of my old hometown

I blew through the border flipping the bird with my finger
I watched the Arizona flag disappear in my mirror
It dawned on me my fantasy was somehow now real
I swelled with emotions actors pretend to feel
When their wounds miraculously heal
When they walk upon sacred ground

Cause Home Ain't Nothing When You're Not Around
It Ain’t Your House It Aint You’re Town
Home Is Just Where You And I Share The Ground

My tank was running low so I pulled into Barstow
Found the cheapest pump in town and it still cost me a pant-load!
While I waited I walked into the convenience store
The Man behind the counter smiled and asked what I was looking for
I said "The sweet ocean shore
A bottle of Cherry Coke and a couple Mounds"

He said he lived in Venice Beach during the summer of 69
He slept on top of rooftops of the friends he had at the time
He told me to visit the strip & stay there for a while
And my face will be fixed with a permanent smile
He didn't ring up my pile
He told me to take the food and hurry out

Cause Home Ain't Nothing When You're Not Around
It Ain’t Your House It Aint You’re Town
Home Is Just Where You And I Share The Ground

So I followed the sings that pointed to Santa Monica
I parked at the pier and saw for the first time the ocean
I ran to the water through sand and ocean breeze
Saw the moon and her reflection and fell down on my knees
I cried "Mercy, Mercy Me!
I'm not worthy of what I see now"

I slept in the sand and woke up to the sunrise
I ran to Venice Beach and saw the strip with my own eyes
There were gypsies and drunk punks eating fruit, drinking tea
Selling jewelery and artwork smoking weed legally
Then I saw a beautiful lady looking directly at me
One eye was green, one eye was brown

Cause Home Ain't Nothing When You're Not Around
It Ain’t Your House It Aint You’re Town
Home Is Just Where You And I Share The Ground

She told me I looked like I needed a place to stay
I said "How could you tell" she said "Physic's my middle name"
Be both laughed and smiled, she moved her hair outta her face
I asked for the closest hotel, she said "Just stay at my place"
She spoke with such grace
No part of me could have turned her down

She lived at the corner of 19th and Speedway
A quick walk away from the Muscle Beach Cafe
We walked up the starts and she opened the door
I took one step inside and she tackled me to the floor
She kissed me on the lips
And we didn't stop kissing until dawn

Cause Home Ain't Nothing When You're Not Around
It Ain’t Your House It Aint You’re Town
Home Is Just Where You And I Share The Ground

We slept through the morning and woke up at four o'clock
We got dressed and we picked up take out from the boardwalk
When we got back to her place she raced into her room
She brought out a ring, her late father's only heirloom
She asked me to be her groom
Wearing her mother's wedding gown

For 3 years consecutively we didn't leave each other's side
She's my best friend, my confidant, my teacher and my bride
But the drugs and the booze hit her harder than me
And she overdosed at our anniversary party
We vowed for eternity
But her body is cold in the ground

Cause Home Ain't Nothing When You're Not Around
It Ain’t Your House It Aint You’re Town
Home Is Just Where You And I Share The Ground

I left Venice Beach and went back to Sedona
As I came to Arizona I blew a kiss to California
When I walked in my old room I broke down and wept
Everything in there was perfectly kept
It was as though I never left
And so returned my old forgotten frown

Now It's been three years since I lost my love to the day
It's been three years since I've been to Californi-aye
IT's been three years since a smile's graced my face
It's been three years of rotting in this god forsaken place
But my heart starts to race
At the though of getting out of town

Cause Home Ain't Nothing When You're Not Around
It Ain’t Your House It Aint You’re Town
Home Is Just Where You And I Share The Ground

Now I'm speeding heading west when I come upon Barstow
I look at the dashboard and notice the gauge is low
I find the same gas station I went to before
I see the same cashier when I when I enter the same store
I walk through the door
He smiles and says "What brings you around?"

I told him all I've told you and he says "Boy I got to say,
Make sure when you get there the first thing you do is visit her grave"
So here I am standing in the cemetery
When I read her name a wave of love comes crashing on me
I cry till I'm dry, her grave floods like the Nile
But that love is still gushing and it makes me smile
And I see that our loves lives on eternally
And our dream of forever lives on in me
And it dawns on me our fantasy is somehow still real
And i swell with emotions televangelists pretend to feel
When they sing Amazing Grace
"I was once lost, but now I'm found."

Cause Home Ain't Nothing When You're Not Around
It Ain’t Your House It Aint You’re Town
Home Is Just Where You And I Share The Ground