Rise and shine, now my head is clear
Realize for the first time no one’s here anymore
Where’s my inspiration?
Dried up so fast
Now I’ve hit bottom at last
If I could only find the words
To save you from a world of hurt
But people get what they deserve
A sniff of blood, their fangs unfurl
I dreamt about you so much
Split my head in two
Alison it’s obviously true
R. M. Goetz - acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, vocals, harmonica
Alison Unrequited
In Stephen Gaines’ definitive biography of the Beach Boys, Heroes and Villains, there's a wonderful vignette about Brian Wilson hauling his big, bulky Wollensack 2-track tape recorder out in the woods or down to the beach to record au natural. As alt Beach Boys obsessives know, this is how the passing-train-and-barking-dogs coda was recorded for "Pet Sounds". Anyway, to make a long story interminable, Brian's outdoor recording technique was the inspiration for the intro to “Alison”. After that we get into a lot of Pink Floyd territory, circa Ummagumma-Meddle (sparse, tasty slide licks by Rob). Inspired by a day-long interaction in the cab with Alison and her daughter Hayley who were visiting Pittsburgh for the first time. I develop crushes on female passengers all the time (more grist for the mill).