You’ve got to listen to “All My Happiness is Gone” as soon as you damn well can. It’s the best mating of bouncy, propulsive melody with tragic lyrics since the Smiths disbanded. From David Berman, the front man of Silver Jews, who killed himself this year, it’s got lyrics that resonate perhaps too well for me.
“Friends are warmer than gold when you’re old
And keeping them is harder than you might suppose
Lately, I tend to make strangers wherever I go
Some of them were once people I was happy to know”
Rose City lifers will appreciate a line describing the “icy bike chain rain of Portland, Or-uh-gon.”
Also, Oregonians, know that you remain friends in my life. I am not able to travel there often, but my sincere appreciation for you has not diminished.
I remain,
