From the recording Threadbare Songs
This is my week 45 entry in the @wildwoodrecording song contest. The prompt this week was to write a song about travel.
"Struggleville Holiday" takes you on a dark, winding tour through anxiety's twisted streets. It wanders from the roundabout that never ends to the diner serving catastrophe coffee with a splash of fluoxetine. But finally, alone with an empty plate, a familiar stranger offers something Struggleville can't sell... companionship for the journey. Being lost isn't the same as being alone.
Thank you, Sonny and Georgia. You can't imagine how much this weekly writing prompt has meant to me this year. Ya'll are the best.
Lyrics
VERSE 1
A dull light points at a green metal sign that says,
Welcome to Struggleville Junction
Enjoy the sights, and stay awhile; we welcome your dysfunction
Come and see the roundabout; you'll love going round in circles
Anxiety drives the economy, and the currency is universal
CHORUS
I’m lost, can’t find my way
I’m lost on a Struggleville holiday
VERSE 2
I park across from the visitor’s center.
I cautiously step inside.
It smells of broken promises and dreams in formaldehyde.
There’s a flyer for the “What-If Gallery” and a map to the “Trail of Regret”
And “The 3 AM Thoughts Observatory" an experience you’ll never forget
CHORUS
VERSE 3
I wander ‘round this twisted town
To a diner called the Hazy Bean
I order up a cup of catastrophe coffee with a splash of fluoxetine
And the overthinking omelet with a slice of rumination pie
Both will leave me hungry, neither one will satisfy
CHORUS
BRIDGE
A familiar stranger asks if he can join me for a while
I shrug and gesture toward the chair, though alone is more my style
I look up from my empty plate and expect the third degree
But patiently he says, ”When you’re ready, follow me”
FINAL CHORUS
I’m lost, I’m on the way
I’m lost on a Struggleville holiday