La Dispute - Eight

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
song name – band name
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
tabbed by : kamdude
email : triathlete_max@hotmail . com

tuning : standard

chords used :

Am C F
E | – – – – 0 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
B | – – – – 1 – – – – – – – – 1 – – – – – – – – – x – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
G | – – – – 2 – – – – – – – – 0 – – – – – – – – – 2 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
D | – – – – 2 – – – – – – – – 2 – – – – – – – – – 3 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
A | – – – – 0 – – – – – – – – 3 – – – – – – – – – 3 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
E | – – – – 0 – – – – – – – – x – – – – – – – – – 1 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |

Am
1978 – san diego :
C
i’d just come out the other side of a relationship that blew up
F
i was angry , and disillusioned , and ultimately self – destructive .
i’d lost everything i believed in
Am
i was as utterly , completely alone as i’ve ever been .
C
so i began going on walks .

( just follow this pattern for the rest of the song ) Am C F

i started taking late – night walks around the san diego suburb i was living in at the time .
i’d start walking early evening , and come back close to midnight , sometimes later
walking and thinking and chewing over what had gone wrong with my life .

one night , at fourth and E streets , i got mugged and beaten by a street gang
sent me to the hospital with serious intimations of mortality .
when the er techs asked what my religion was , i refused to answer .
i made my private peace with the universe ,
content with whatever was going to happen , live or die .

then something happened .
i got angry .
i got angry because i still had stories to tell .
so i fought back .

it took two months to fully recover .
but two things came out of that incident .
first : i have no fear of death . none whatsoever .
second : as soon as i was well enough , i started walking again .
sometimes until 3 or 4 in the morning ,
through parts of town that made even street people nervous .

when people asked what i was doing out there that late at night ,
the only answer i could give was , “i’m looking for something . ”
so i kept walking through some of the most dangerous parts of san diego ,
before it got cleaned up ,
when it was still home to hookers and drunks and gangs

finally , one afternoon , i came to the same areas i walked through at night
and i was struck by the dichotomy between that corner at night ,
and the very same corner during the day .
in the daylight , there were businessmen and kids and clerks ,
eager to get home to dinner and tv and family .
then , later , came the night shift – the lost people
emerging from shadows and beds of pain to walk the same streets
in search of fixes , money , and bars ,
gradually fading away with the dawn .

two totally different worlds ,
sharing nothing but longitude and latitude .
there was the nation in the day , and the nation at night ,
existing side by side but each fleeing the other;
a daylight nation and a midnight nation .

i saw a country bifurcated by more than just the presence and absence of light ,
but by lives cast aside and lost and uncared for;
the walked away and the thrown – away on one side , and on the other ,
those who pretended not to see them , because not seeing is easier .

and i saw someone forced to walk both sides of the metaphor ,
to learn that the greatest cruelty is our casual blindness to the despair of others ,
that there but for the grace of whatever god you subscribe to goes any of us .

and finally , i realized that i had found what i was looking for ,
without ever being quite sure what it was .
i found a story that would make my own life make sense again .
this story .

i still take long walks
and i still stop and talk to the people who stand at the corner
and wait for something to happen to them ,
who wait for money to fall into a hat or a cup ,
who wait for someone to recognize their pain .
because the line between the midnight nation
and the place where i sit right now ,
writing these words , is thin and ephemeral and can be crossed in an instant .
because the road to the midnight nation can be erased only through compassion .

i found my story , this story , on a hazy afternoon in 1978 .
now it’s yours .
the keys to the midnight nation are in your hands .
what you do with them is up to you .

j . michael straczynski .
sherman oaks , ca
july 21st , 2002 .