Farewell to Prince's Landing Stage
River Mersey, fare thee well
I am bound for California,
A place I know right well

-Well, there's this lady...

The crowd roared

-Let me finish, let me finish! So, there's this lady that I really like. But... uh... You see, these guys want me to play with them... In the world tour—

Another wild roar

So fare thee well, my own true love
For when I return, united we will be
It's not the leaving of Liverpool that grieves me
But my darling when I think of thee

There I was, on stage with The High Kings. The details are fuzzy right now, but I recall having a smoke on the alley behind the theate. Then came this... person? He couldn't even stand. Just smelling his fumes raised my BAC level. He started shouting something that might be gaelic. I don't know gaelic, I just think that any drunk in Liverpool might shout in gaelic.

Anyway, someone came out of the stage door and tried to get this guy up. I offered my help and we managed to move this gel of a man up to an improvised bedroom backstage. As soon as he started snoring, the stage guy began freaking out. Apparently this drunkard was the lead singer and there was no replacement for his voice and rhythm guitar. I offered my help once more, a-la-Marty McFly on Back to the Future

I'm bound off for California
By the way of stormy Cape Horn
And I'm bound to write you a letter, love
When I am homeward bound

She was here. Right here on Liverpool. Thousands of miles away from her beloved Panama, in the middle of a pouring rain (the kind that I loved and she kinda hated). One ocean away from «the love of her life» that she used to rub on everyone's faces at every chance she got. In a country whose language she despised. In a pub, reeking of booze and tobacco. Her presence made no sense at all.

I have signed on a Yankee clipper ship
Davy Crockett is her name
And Burgess is the Captain of her
And they that say she's a floating shame

I could see her clearly, there was no mistake about it. I knew the exact way she moved her bangs to the side of her head. Right hand moving to the left, turning the head a bit to the right. I think I even saw her smiling when I said about "a girl a really like", but that might be my twisted imagination. I wanted her to think it was about her. I wanted to lift her spirits and then make her see she doesn't have a parachute but a backpack full of dirty clothes. I wanted to see her heart crashing down.

I have shipped with Burgess once before
And I think I know him well
If a man's a sailor, he can get along
If not, then he's sure in Hell

The world tour actually did depart from Liverpool, on that same evening. The crew was just waiting for us, everything not on stage was already in this wooden ship just as the ones described by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Then came «my own true love», Melissa. We shared a long, deep kiss. The kind that makes balloons pop out of nowhere and encourages the crowd to cheer with christmas crackers and confetti. The kind of kiss that makes you forgive all your enemies and reminds you that life is better than fairy tales.

My finger ran through her cheek, God I love those freckles. I was fixed on her eyes, but I saw in the corner of my eye a blonde girl, running away with her hands on her face. I wish it was her.

Farewell to lower Frederick Street
Anson Terrace and Park Lane
For I think it will be a long, long time
Before I see you again

I got back, eventually. She wanted to meet me at the old café. Something had changed, of course: I knew that before I jumped on that ship, but she was apparently still coming to grips with it. She never mentioned Mel. She never mentioned Liverpool. She told me of her past 6 months and how fantastic summer had been. How she had attended the best parties, shook hands with this or that big shot politician, how she was on track to this fantastic job (the kind that makes economist-types bubble with enthusiasm, the kind that seems shit-boring to me).

Maybe she wanted to make me jealous. Maybe it was all on my head and I wasn't as important in her life as I thought. Either way, I couldn't stop smiling. It felt evil

Oh the sun is on the harbour, love
And I wish I could remain
For I know it will be a long, long time
Till I see you again

 


This was dreamt on the first night I spent at London, it's all fictional. Lyrics available on Wikimedia Source