Easy Like Me

Lyrics

Coughing up the truth through that silver-lined throat
Guess it had been caught in my chest for a while
I wanted you to wear me like a brand new parka coat
Thought I'd been anointed by your smile

Once again I've testified to another's passion
Guess my silence didn't speak out loud this time
Bounced a check that someone else is cashing
Set myself up to be victim to the crime

And it's easy to let it slide so it won't eat you inside
It's easy, you just pay the fee
Its easy like me

Wish for just this once the sun would beat down on my neck
But the cold wind blew like John Coltrane
I was ready to swing, but I was only on deck
That is where I began the pain

I pulled the petals of a daisy, bit someone stole the flower
So I don't know the final score
I know I'm not crazy, but things just went a little sour
It's gonna take a lot to open up that door

And it's easy to let it slide so it won't eat you inside
It's easy, you just pay the fee
Its easy like me

Wish for just this one the sun would beat down on my neck
Guess my silence didn't speak out loud this time

Reflections

This is a song about being really bad at love, at least romantic love. If you don't know what you're doing then someone else gets the girl.  To be in your early twenties and to feel like you don't know how to express your emotions to someone, anyone,  in a comfortable way can be really difficult.  I think it's more common than I realized it to be at that time.  Everybody has their own schedule, and sometimes it comes sooner, and sometimes we can't realize what a blessing it is when it is to come later.

The first line of this song says a lot to me about what I have learned as a musician.  A lot of us who sing and play are aware of our best musical qualities, and though someone at that time had described my throat as "silver-lined" it was very apparent to me that that didn't matter when it came to real human communication and personal relationships.

I love the congas on this tune.  The drums themselves were owned at one time by the band, Wild Cherry, who wrote "Play That Funky Music White Boy."  That memory gives me great joy.