Zephyr Device

White Collar Nomads

Lyrics

Sterile and clean, that's how she kept her home The coffee table glistened and smiled back at the crystal Chandelier. No one asked her to clean, her role was just assumed. Life as a white-collar nomad was full of assumptions: She assumed her husband thought about her while traveling to and from Phoenix, Charlotte, San Diego. She assumed he jerked off in hotel bathrooms While thinking of her in her Valentine's Day Lingerie. She assumed her kids played the day away in safety on Saturday play dates. She assumed they'd stop moving one day.

When she cried herself to sleep under the cover of covers And the buzz of late night TV She focused on her dreams, her future the way her momma helped her see it: Nice home, never alone, jokes over the telephone with close girlfriends, Kids sitting high atop the honor roll, A husband / best friend / lover that could maker her eyes roll white On nights of orgasmic delight

She always woke up in the morning though-- This is the life of the NEW AGE RELO! The relocating families that follow the stale stench Of middle management opportunities, To and fro, to and fro, to and fro! They wash over new communities that never spring up fast enough A wave of well-clothed, hollow-souled, flaky drones That don't know what it means to think slow, love slow, be slow.

They don't fall asleep they pass out Nice jeans come off and knees give out They run ragged to find time for a slow stroll Or a sunset drive with the top down, no place to go. These moments are often lost and forgotten about in race of the NEW AGE RELO!

The meeting started like they always start "John we're very pleased with your performance last quarter But.... there's a region in trouble that needs your help!" They made him feel needed, like he was always competing For their affection their blessings. Sure he could say, "No," But he craved the sweet taste of promotion, The smooth calm of humble boasting That pulsed through him during after-work martini toasting "Here's to John! Our new southern mid-Atlantic regional manager of sales and marketing!" "Oh come on man you make it sound so fancy! It's just another position!" This "just another position" Forces John Junior and Kristen To rip out their baby roots that have already started twisting around new friends and clubs The resist every move, "Dad I love Playing on the golf team!" "Dad you don't know how much Jen's friendship means to me!" Cheeks always got read and tears bled clear streaks And moistened the cuffs of his children's sleeves. "John Jr. don't wipe your face with that fleece please! Go get a tissue and toughen up! You'll join a new golf team!"

They pack up with precision now, they fit over-priced trinkets In boxes as if they're positioning puzzle pieces. No space is wasted Every trace of them erased They move in a single night And neighbors awake, brew kegs of coffee and say, "It's such a shame, they seemed so nice!" They land from the sky in another place Like well-groomed Martians from outer space But they fit right in and get lost in the pace The race of it all Until one day new neighbors knock with cookies in hand and proclaim, "Hi!! We're sorry if we're late with the introductions, but I'm Mark And this is Lisa! We want to welcome you to Greystone Cliffs!" "Yeah! It seemed like your house was vacant for a few weeks and then one day We turned around and your tulips were blooming and your son Was playing b-ball in the drive and I said to Mark, 'Oh my gosh! A new family moved in already, They seem so nice! They seem so nice! They seem so nice!' "

Bi-monthly BBQ's begin And the cycle starts again: Mulching, taxi-driving non-paying child customers, Eating out, soccer, tennis, country club dues, Eating out, rare trips to the country club More tennis, soccer, book clubs, PTA membership turns to PTA ownership Tutors, report cards heavy with trashy "Bs" and "Cs" More expensive tutors, calls to teachers, gifts for teachers New report cards saturated with greasy unearned "As" Clean car gets dirty gets clean gets dirty gets clean gets dirty gets clean Gossip moving at lightning speed through a grape vine With visored white women for grapes It gets old but no one says a word. If they scream and the bottom falls out--where Will they land?!

Zephyr Device

"Departure"

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Authors' Commentary

White Collar Nomads

Lyrics