We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Extended Stay Motel

from A Landscape of Ghosts by Rob Siegel

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

about

On business travel in an extended stay motel near Camp Lejeune (Jacksonville, NC), a colleague and I witnessed something we couldn't figure out. We never did.

lyrics

she sits out on the stoop
at the extended stay motel
she’s literally the girl next door
if Mayberry went to hell
she’s got that wholesome pretty
but I don’t think she’s what she seems
as she sits there smoking cigarettes
and talking to marines

she looks great in that tank top
tattoos for all to see
the modern substitution
for the heart worn on the sleeve
it’s an odd juxtaposition
the girl next door has gone
the vodka bottle’s empty
I’ve been away too long

but I’m only an observer
not my place to interfere
measurement makes discontent
in this small imperfect sphere
I remain the staid researcher
it’s really just as well
I watch from a safe distance
at the extended stay motel

hooker’s such a harsh word
and I don’t know the facts
maybe she’s just looking
for some company not cash
this guy could be her brother
but not all of them I’ve spied
but if they’re really paying clients
why do they sit and talk outside

I come back from doing laundry
her door’s ajar as I walk by
there’s that lonely human silken thread
she smiles and say hi
I so want to ask the question
but it’s the biggest line there is
what’s a girl like you
doing in a place like this

and there’s big red flashing danger
not just from jealous marines
I don’t fraternize with strangers
I don’t do that kind of thing
and I’m out of here next Wednesday
it’s really just as well
I’m steering clear of trouble
at the extended stay motel

I want to help her somehow
I want to be her friend
I want her to know that I am
not like other men

or maybe her marine’s deployed
and these are just his friends
keeping her together
for his extended stay and then
hoping for a stay of execution
from the stray projectile’s rage
to be nearby if they notify
in this brutal modern age

I’m wondering if I come back
in a month or in a year
will she still be sitting on the stoop
with a cigarette and beer
I’ve never wished so hard I’m wrong
about a thing that I can’t tell
I hope she’s locked in with her sweetheart
at the extended stay motel

credits

from A Landscape of Ghosts, released March 24, 2018
Guitar and vocal: Rob Siegel
Fiddle: Tim Roper
Upright bass: Peter Tillotson
Electric guitar and percussion: Doug Kwartler

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Rob Siegel Boston, Massachusetts

Rob Siegel is well-known in Boston folk music circles as an innovative songwriter who draws from his idyllic yet stressed- out middle-class suburban existence and produces memorable, intelligent, well-crafted songs.

His first new CD in 14 years, "A Landscape of Ghosts," will be out in April, with a CD release show at Club Passim on Monday April 30th.
... more

contact / help

Contact Rob Siegel

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Rob Siegel, you may also like: