The Wetsuits - CD 2013 Liner Notes

The album was recorded at Jim’s home in Biddeford and Byon’s home in Kennebunk between April 2011 and April 2013; it was mixed and mastered at Jim’s from April through July 2013.

1.
Don’t Forget to Walk Around (Pearson)

We’re standing in a most unusual spot
Things are better than originally thought
When Fate takes your hand, leads you to my hometown
Do me a favor, don’t forget to walk around

I can remember a ‘specially rainy day
The thunder rolled my girl away
You’ll find that old city easy to surround
Once you get inside, don’t forget to walk around

I don’t know her, she just brought my tea
Though she does look good standing next to me
Here comes my plea at the speed of sound
Wherever you go, don’t forget to walk around

I don’t like this, it’s not what I planned
Been away so long it’s like a foreign land
No one here knows me, they’re all underground
That being said, don’t forget to walk around

Simply put, you’ve set me on the right track
It’s one-way baby I’m never turning back
Little darling, will you look at what I’ve found
Looks like your hand, let’s not forget to walk around

Byon: harmony and backing vocal, organ, acoustic and electric guitar solos
Dana: lead and harmony vocals, bass
Jim: backing vocal, electric rhythm guitar, drums

2.
Blonde Chicks Laughing (Pearson)

Blonde chicks laughing, texting as they’re passing by
Not a single one bothers to look you in the eye
But it’s OK, you’ve left that game behind
The other day when she said “yeah, you’re mine”

Blonde chicks laughing, not a care in the world
Hitting their peak as they become the prettiest girls
But it’s OK, you’ve left that game behind
The other day when she said “yeah, you’re mine”

Don’t need the aggravation of looking high and low
After years of desperation, of going with the flow
You’ve done the calculations, there’s nothing you don’t know
It might take a year until it’s plain
The choice you make sends all the others away

Blonde chicks laughing, models of joie de vivre
They’d have you know it’s better to give than receive
But it’s OK, you’ve left that game behind
The other day when she said “yeah, you’re mine”
It might take a year until it’s plain
The choice you make sends all the others away

Byon: harmony vocal, bass, electric guitar fills
Dana: electric and acoustic rhythm guitar
Jim: lead and harmony vocal, electric guitar solo, drums

3.
Wonder Why (Yeatts)

Once in a lifetime you may find the one
Look for the sublime, looking for the son
I have never seen before, wandered down the corridor
Always missed the hidden door
Show me the answer and I’ll fall on my knees

And I’ve heard the questions
But I never wonder why

The man on the TV selling hope to me
Just a few dollars for eternity
I have never heard the word, never part of the herd
Always seem so absurd
Show me the answer and I’ll fall on my knees

And I’ve heard the questions
And I’ve seen the lies
And I know I don’t know
And I never wonder why

You say you know it, you say that it’s true
Some say you have it, but I can’t follow you

And I’ve heard the questions
And I’ve seen the lies
And I know I don’t know
And I never wonder why

Byon: lead vocal, acoustic and electric guitars, 12-string electric
Dana: bass
Jim: drums

4.
I’m in Love with a Fictional Character (Pearson)

I didn’t know what it meant to be alive
Till she was introduced halfway through Chapter 5
I agree with virtually every thought she thinks
I love how she says only the most relevant things

Don’t act as though I’ve got a problem on my hands
Isn’t this a feeling everybody understands?

I’m in love with a fictional character
The absurdity of which has yet to register
I’m in love with a fictional character
Don’t give me that look – I’m sure it’s happened to you
I’m sure it’s happened to you and you and you

Way too much time elapsed between
Her appearance in print and on the big screen
Though I fell first for the original creation
I was equally smitten with her adaptation

Don’t act as though I’ve got a problem on my hands
Isn’t this a feeling everybody understands?

I’m in love with a fictional character…

I’m not naïve, I know she can’t be my wife
Not having been endowed with the gift of life
Short of that she’s got everything I could ever need
I don’t see why this is so hard to believe

Don’t act as though I’ve got a problem on my hands
Isn’t this a feeling everybody understands?

I’m in love with a fictional character…

Byon: harmony and backing vocal, bass
Dana: lead and harmony vocal, electric and acoustic guitar
Jim: harmony and backing vocal, drums, tambourine

5.
Separate Cars (Pearson)

No I don’t want to save you a seat in the theater
I don’t care to rendezvous with you in the park
I’d rather not meet you at six-fifteen at the café
‘Cause that would only mean separate cars

Sure we can talk to each other on our cellphones driving down the highway
All the while I’m staring at the back of your, your pretty head
We all know how much fun it is pretending to race back home
But I’d much rather be in your car instead, instead of driving

Separate cars
Don’t wanna drive in separate cars
For the love of God not separate cars again

We’re singing along to the same tunes on the same station
But I’d much rather we harmonize in your car instead, instead of driving

Separate cars
Don’t wanna drive in separate cars
For the love of God not separate cars again

When it became clear we’d be taking this trip, this trip together
There was no doubt it would have to be side by side
Don’t need to read your mind to know you know as well as I do
There’s no sense in either one of us suggesting that we drive, that we drive in

Separate cars
Don’t wanna drive in separate cars
For the love of God not separate cars again
What’d I say ‘bout separate cars
Don’t wanna drive in separate cars
For the love of God not separate cars again

Byon: backing vocal, electric guitar solo, organ, bass
Dana: lead vocal, acoustic guitars, harmonica
Jim: backing vocal, drums

6.
Found a Nickel (Lost a Dime) (Lyrics: Pearson/music & lyrics: Yeatts)

Never occurred to him or crossed his mind
Best way forward – the path behind
Thought to trade up, thought a lot of things
Except the curse heartlessness brings

The new a looker, felt good on his arm
Stocked with charisma, full on charm
Unknown to him it was her careless fling
Too late – the end of everything

He didn’t step so lightly
He didn’t laugh so loud
He didn’t feel so lively
He didn’t feel so proud
Kill two birds with one stone
He can never go back home
Can’t turn back the hands of time
He found a nickel, lost a dime

Never occurred to her or crossed her mind
Best way forward – leave him behind
Easy to trade up, easy to bury him
From fertile ground memory dims

He didn’t step so lightly
He didn’t laugh so loud
He didn’t feel so lively
He didn’t feel so proud
Kill two birds with one stone
He can never go back home
Can’t turn back the hands of time
He found a nickel, lost a dime

Byon: lead vocal, 12-string electric, electric guitar solo
Dana: harmony vocal, bass
Jim: harmony vocal, drums

7.
Another Bad Day on Death Row (Pearson)

Good to see you, baby, pardon my appearance
Truth be told, I’m so glad your parents
Aren’t around to further test their endurance
Of being related to me
Of being related to me

Baby that’s a bruise, not a concussion
What should be our point of discussion
Is how I had it in for that beady-eyed Russian
Since he moved in with you
Since he moved in with you

Didn’t reflect well upon my character
Cutting off his head with the fury of Lucifer
That didn’t sit well with my parole officer
That’s how I got my own room
That’s how I got my own room

It’s another bad day, another bad day, it’s another bad day on death row

Learn how to nod, learn how to grovel
Watch things turn from bad to awful
Screws confiscated the only novel
That takes me away from here
That takes me away from here

It’s another bad day, another bad day, it’s another bad day on death row

Only thing worse than lethal injection
Would be the pain of an ill-timed rejection
You gotta hang around until my resurrection
I learned that one in Sunday school
I learned that one in Sunday school

It’s another bad day, another bad day, it’s another bad day on death row
It’s another bad day, another bad day, it’s another bad day on death row

Byon: harmony vocal, bass
Dana: harmony vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar, ukulele
Jim: lead vocal, drums, Spanish guitar solos

8.
Sorry Things Worked Out (Music & lyrics: Pearson/lyrics: Yeatts)

Sorry things worked out
Sorry it went so well
Sorry you’ve reconciled
Sorry you can’t tell

It will fall apart – thanks to friction
It will fall apart –it’s gonna get rough
It will fall apart – here’s to contradiction
It will fall apart – soon enough

I’m sorry you left all smiles
Sorry ‘bout the common ground
Sorry you mapped out the future
Sorry you haven’t found

It will fall apart – thanks to friction
It will fall apart –it’s gonna get rough
It will fall apart – here’s to contradiction
It will fall apart – soon enough

I liked it when you were sad
I liked to hear about the pain
I liked it when you got mad
Why can't I have that back again

It will fall apart – thanks to friction
It will fall apart –it’s gonna get rough
It will fall apart – here’s to contradiction
It will fall apart – soon enough

Byon: backing vocal, 12-string acoustic guitar, piano
Dana: lead vocal, bass
Jim: backing vocal, drums, electric rhythm guitar
Renée O’Neil: backing vocal

9.
What a Day (Pearson)

Nothing like the sound of laughter
Coming from the sweet hereafter
If it seems like that old dream ending in a scream, oh no

I’ve a long-held predilection
Pulling fact away from fiction
Is it true that this is you now that all is through, oh yeah yeah yeah

My my my my my, what a day, what a day
My my my my my, what a day, what a day, what a day

Watching you make a decision
With that razor-sharp precision
Tells my mind to get behind that you are mine once again, yeah yeah

My my my my my, what a day, what a day
My my my my my, what a day, what a day, what a day

I thought it would be a while till I joined with you
But if this is what happens afterward, it’ll do

My my my my my, what a day, what a day
My my my my my, what a day, what a day, what a day

Now we spend our days just breezin’
Through space that defies all reason
That’s OK if people say we have gone away for good, yeah yeah

My my my my my, what a day, what a day
My my my my my, what a day, what a day
My my my my my, what a day, what a day
My my my my my, what a day, what a day, what a day

Byon: harmony vocal, rhythm and lead electric guitar
Dana: lead vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar, bass
Jim: harmony vocal, drums

10.
Wide Awake (Pearson)

Wide awake
Three in the morning
A minor ache
Serves as a warning
You’ve been gone, off and on, more than once upon a time

Nothing gets me back to normal
Pick up a book, can’t read a page
I toss from side to side for hours
It seems I’ll never leave this stage

Wide awake
Room won’t stop turning
My mistake
I won’t stop yearning
You’ve been gone, off and on, more than once upon a time

Nothing gets me back to normal
Pick up a book, can’t read a page
I toss from side to side for hours
It seems I’ll never leave this stage

Byon: lead and harmony vocal, electric lead and solo guitar
Dana: rhythm electric guitar, bass
Jim: harmony vocal, drums

11.
Brenda’s Friend Brenda (Lyrics: Pearson/music: Yeatts)

I looked at her face, looked at it again
She didn’t quite measure up to her eight-by-ten
I’d heard so much about her, seen some of her work
I’d read about her triumphs, I even read the dirt

The Brenda that I know hadn’t done so well
As her friend Brenda, as far as I could tell

I kissed her face, I kissed it again
Still didn’t measure up to her eight-by-ten
But what’s important here, or so I propose
Is that I’m with someone that everybody knows

The Brenda that I know is a much better girl
Though her friend Brenda has conquered the world

If you’re asking me to make the call
If you’re asking me to make the call
If you’re asking me to make the call
Brenda’s friend Brenda is not like Brenda at all

Byon: lead vocal, piano, organ
Dana: harmony vocal, bass
Jim: harmony vocal, drums, djembe

12.
The Weight of God (Pearson)

It’s easier, easier said than done
To free yourself from someone
Even, even though you’ve mostly fought
When I stop believing, that’s when I start feeling
The weight of God

It’s true I’ve never seen his face
Though you say that’s commonplace
I’m through waiting for the nod
When I stop believing, that’s when I start feeling
The weight of God

I wait for something to believe
I’d hate to see you up and leave
I’d pray if it weren’t for naught
When I stop believing, that’s when I start feeling
The weight of God

The snow covers up the ground
And no, nobody’s come around
I’m alone even though I’m not
When I stop believing, that’s when I start feeling
The weight of God
When I stop believing, that’s when I start feeling
The weight of God
When I stop believing, that’s when I start feeling
The weight of God

Byon: backing vocal, bass
Dana: lead vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar, electric guitar solo, harmonica
Jim: backing vocal, drums, acoustic rhythm guitar