Santa Ana Winds by Jarrod Walker

Lyrics:
She said if she stayed with me she’d be settling
And to tell the truth those words have echoed in my head
There was nothing true I could say to refute it
Guess that’s why I’ve been so depressed

Took a job out west hoping for a better wage
To afford a life I couldn’t otherwise hope to give
A foolish thought—the distance wouldn’t be a strain
Didn’t know it’d be so hard on her kids

I blew a kiss on the Santa Ana winds
It would have to do til she was in my arms again
Now the flare stacks are the only light in my life
And this coffin sleeper is my bed

I knew it was dangerous and I weighed the risk
Life and limb across the scale from paying bills
You view rock lung silicosis through a rose lens
With a damn bad back and so few skills

Haven’t smiled in so long if I did my lips would splay
I’d give anything for a reason to conjure a sanguine grin
Haven’t been touched in so long I don’t shoo the flies away
The loneliness wears my resolve thin

I blew a kiss on the Santa Ana winds
Didn’t know it was the beginning of the end
Now the days are silent just babysitting sand
And the regrets have free reign in my head

The storms on the horizon seem never get nearer
I watch the sun sink behind mountains to the west
The hazards of this life stare back from the mirror
Choke down stimulants wish sundown meant some rest

Never been a cutter but her words were like a knife
I could use if I ever need to bleed
Those few syllables burrow in my mind
Like an Apothecary surgeon trepanning

I blew a kiss on the Santa Ana winds
Guess it’s true she’ll never be in my arms again
This dark road stretches on for miles and miles
I sing sad songs to coyotes for a while