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Hometown Expectations

from Greatest Hits by Rich Evans

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lyrics

The wind was blowing east last night
Dreamed it wrapped me in a melody and held me tight
And all the notes that old hurricane picker played
Were secret memories in my head from faraway
Out beyond the badlands
Way across the flatlands
To the footnote of our nation
That I was born and raised in though it seems so long ago

Raise a glass tonight tonight to absent friends
Wish I was bulletproof these days like back then
Laughing off the risks now that I don’t take
Ignoring compromises that we all make
Ran off to the west left my caution to the wind
Knew that when I left I wouldn’t be coming back again
Would I have done things differently?
If I’d have grown up as they intended me to be so long ago?

What if I’d have stayed?
What if I'd done what they say?
And not obeyed the dreams in my imagination
What if I’d have stayed?
What if I’d have stayed?
And been weighed down with all those hometown expectations
What if I’d have stayed?

Looking back now at that screwed up kid
Who never took the same road that the rest of them did
Would I have quit high school, married at 21
And maybe worked the same job that my daddy done
Setting up now in the corner of a bar
With a beat up leather jacket and a Japanese guitar
Raging fires still burning bright
I follow, hearing voices in the night from faraway

What if I’d have stayed?
What if I'd done what they say?
And not obeyed the dreams in my imagination
What if I’d have stayed?
What if I’d have stayed?
And been weighed down with all those hometown expectations
What if I’d have stayed?

From the mountainside of dreams I wake up
In a cold, cold sweat
See myself in the mirror
Twisted, wrapped up in regret
Silhouette of someone just like me day after day
Making reel-to-reel cassettes
The one that never got away

What if I’d have stayed?
What if I'd done what they say?
And not obeyed the dreams in my imagination
What if I’d have stayed?
What if I’d have stayed?
And been weighed down with all those hometown expectations
What if I’d have stayed?

credits

from Greatest Hits, released October 19, 2022

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Rich Evans London, UK

Veteran Americana/Blues/ Folk singer-songwriter based in London.

Rich was previously in The Mariachis, The Rich Evans Band and Roosevelt Bandwagon.

As a solo artist, he has toured extensively in the USA and Europe and has recorded albums for US labels in Nashville and Chicago.

The 'Riding Blind EP' is the latest release and marks a return to a more rootsy, stripped-down recording style. ... more

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