We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

A Bridge Too Far (MacArthur Station)

from Outlaw the Dead by E.G. Phillips

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

about

Although the underlying backing track is a gentle bossa nova, there’s an undercurrent of tension and despair from the David Gilmour-esque riffs of an electric guitar and vocals that pierce through the darkness of the night as we are privy to a tormented inner dialogue.

The setting is a light rail station in the East Bay where connections are made and missed and our protagonist is left stranded for an indeterminate nocturnal duration. With a refrain that directly quotes the title drop to a movie about WWII, a sense of conflict is unmistakable.

On this E.G. Phillips composition, the vocals are handled by Grace Renaud, a vocal coach and minister of music. She is currently the music director at St. Paulus Lutheran Church as well as pianist and cantor at Grace Cathedral. Ms. Renaud has also served as the interim music director of the Queer Chorus of San Francisco and directed Soul Shine, a jazz combo accompanied by a choir of 25+ volunteers and professionals.

lyrics

VERSE 1:

I’m across the Bay, like I’ve been before

Stuck at MacArthur Station at this ridiculous hour

It’s a frigid little purgatory surrounded by the highway

Waiting on this open air platform after missing a connecting train

Once again the one connection on which I’m forced to rely

Is the one I can’t rely on at all

Well, as you know, I always thought we tried

To go A Bridge Too Far

VERSE 2:

My days glide by as I knock about

In markets unripe and rotten and a garden of my doubts

Yes, I know my trajectory is not one that will sustain

I may not be right in the head but I don’t need you in my brain

Your solutions are no better than only getting by

Don't plug holes, just refill the reservoir

Well, as you know, I always thought we tried

To go A Bridge Too Far

VERSE 3:

A mad man rants, my signal’s failed

The whole damn world’s determined to go off the rails

There’s no shelter to be had from the constant traffic stream

If we took part in a Turing test
I couldn’t tell you from the machine

We could talk in a language that’s plain and forthright

But that would require us both to disarm

Well, as you know, I always thought we tried

To go A Bridge Too Far

OUTRO:

Well, as you know, I always thought we tried

To go A Bridge Too Far
Well, as you know, I always thought we tried

To go A Bridge Too Far

credits

from Outlaw the Dead, track released August 9, 2023
Grace Renaud — vocals

Christopher Fortier — guitars, electric bass

Kevin Seal — keys

Chris McGrew — percussion

Recorded at Wally's HydeOut in Hyde Street Studio C, San Francisco

Recorded by Gary Hobish
Mixed by Chris McGrew and Jaimeson Durr
Mastered by Gary Hobish, A. Hammer Mastering

Produced by Chris McGrew   

Artwork by Mario M. Noche

Wwritten by E.G. Phillips (ASCAP)
© 2023 Ducks With Pants Music

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

E.G. Phillips image

E.G. Phillips San Francisco, California

E.G. Phillips is a San Francisco based songwriter who creates lyric driven songs with his own special blend of whimsy and cinematic imagery which he uses to give a wry take on dealing with the longings of the heart and the madness of existence.

contact / help

Contact E.G. Phillips

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like E.G. Phillips, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring interviews with LA music scene pillar Kamasi Washington, and new London-based duo Mrcy.

listen now