From the recording Man Who's Really Been Around the Town
If there ever has been a song that has been asked of me--"Uh Jim--is this auto-biographical?"--this is the one!--Though I have certainly had a few nights that resemble the character in this song--this again is a fictional account(as many songs on this CD are) written to capture the theme I wanted to explore in "THE FAME GAME"--of cyclical lonliness in a search for love..."the fast life" does not have to be relegated to "the big city"--but any nook and cranny. I enjoyed the imagery I was able to come up with in this song to paint the picture of this "man about town"--"Chain-smoking lovers one after another/One-night stands with different brands,
the smoke begins to smother"...the song is built around recurring cycles of notes and chords and so it mirrors the "cycle of dependance" of the character--this is one of my fave tunes on the CD and others such as Lehigh Valley entertainment writer Paul Willistein have marvelled at these lyrics--a little Don Henley influence I believe on this one.
Lyrics
MAN WHO’S REALLY BEEN AROUND THE TOWN
Relationships left dangling in the air
Weary of the wrangling he despairs
A huge amount the body-count of women he’s laid bare
Chain-smoking lovers one after another
One-night stands with different brands,
the smoke begins to smother,
He presumes some breathing room will help him to recover
But—
Pre-chorus:
Unanswered phone calls and the quiet between those four walls
Takes him back to dance halls where he can meet some new dolls
Then it all begins again, exchanging numbers finding when
The time is right to get it on, she says her husband’s always gone,
He tells her his place works real well as long as she can stand the smell
Of lovers past who didn’t last—he loved ‘em hard he loved‘em fast
Chorus:
She says that doesn’t bother her
In fact she says she’d much prefer
A Man Who’s Really Been Around the Town
A Man Who’s Really Been Around the Town
A Man Who’s Really Been Around…the Town---Oh!
She heads back to his place to check him out
To find out if his talk packs any clout
They go a couple rounds and it’s clear she’s won the bout
A couple nicks and bruises to his ego but he refuses
Treatment for the open sore of a man who always loses
She sneaks out the door before he wakens to the news—
His new found lover won’t call,
(to pre-chorus/chorus)