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Ephemera

from At Home At Sea by E.G. Phillips

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about

“They say it doesn’t hurt to ask...” our protagonist muses in my song “Ephemera” that will be on the new album “At Home At Sea”

He then follows that up with this observation: “But what the hell do they know?”

Framed within an entirely fictional story about a litterbug, this is largely inner monologue. You’re not given much insight into “the ask” in this case but there are indications it’s romantic in nature. In part the song is just me continuing my war on inane advice and platitudes (see: The Fish Song)

The antecedent of this song in my mind is “The Last” — the last track off the last album by The Replacements (or the first Paul Westerberg solo album as some would have it) — or at least that’s the song that was rattling around in and gnawing at my brain when I wrote this one. I may be the only one to see it because how exactly it relates is a bit difficult to convey. So is what exactly it’s saying. But I wouldn’t have written it any other way. For reasons that are hard to articulate, it’s an enormously important song to me, which is why it’s on this album, because you never know which one will be the last.

lyrics

​She handed me one of her flyers
Asked me to come see her show
She was kinda cute so I smiled and said yes
Dropped it after a few blocks
Watched it blow away like a leaf

They say it doesn’t hurt to ask
But what the hell do they know?
The fact is they say a lot of stupid things
Someone ought to call them out
For all their crazy beliefs

I liked you as soon as I met you
But I met you as you were about to go
The only thing I was able to do for you
Was get you a glass of water
When no one else saw you were thirsty

There’s nothing understand — there’s so much to overlook
I heard a few things secondhand — made some choices on the hoof
But doing something bad don’t mean you’re no good

I caught up with her flyer
As I was headed into the metro
Almost bent down to pick it back up
But the wind grabbed it again
And soon it was out of reach

credits

from At Home At Sea, released July 12, 2019
E.G. Phillips (Vocals, Guitar), Claudio Andrés Sepúlveda Cortés (Trumpet), Ben Osheroff (Wurlitzer, Electric and Slide Guitar), Sean Silverman (Upright Bass), Ben Visini (Drum Kit)

produced, recorded and mixed by Ben Osheroff
mastered by Matt Boudreau, Working Class Audio
songs and artwork by E.G. Phillips (ASCAP)
published by Ducks With Pants Music (@duckswithpants)

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all rights reserved

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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.

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