Things You Left Behind

Any kid who went to a college party in the 80s knows who The Nails were whether you realized it or not. Why? Because every decent party in the late 80s had a smartass at the controls of the CD player who would slip in their song "88 Lines About 44 Women", a funny, quirky track where the narrator of the song sings a couple lines each about different women he's slept with. Years later it was even used in a Mazda commercial.

On The Nails' second album, the dark & brooding "Dangerous Dreams", the boys from Boulder had another single that was in the form of a list, a haunting track called "Things You Left Behind". The narrator of the song literally lists off a running tally of things that were left behind at an apartment by a girl he knew, a motley & assorted collection of the flotsam & jetsam of a person's life. You're left at the end still wondering if she just took off or actually shuffled off her mortal coil.

A pair of stockings, a pair of shoes.
A record by The Moody Blues.
A bottle of Chanel No. 5.
A poster of a band called Dead or Alive.
A silk negligee and a black garter belt.
A book about how to get to know yourself.
A shirt you adopted, used to be mine…
These are some of the things you left behind.

Paintings painted by a man you knew,
someone you dated in '82.
An autographed picture of Junior Wells;
I didn't even know you liked soul that well.
Three pieces of paper with cryptic notes.
Cigarettes? You never smoked!
A bag of beads and fishing line.
These are some of the things you left behind.

A dozen contraceptive sponges;
(anyone here got a rhyme for sponges?)
Dental floss, some baby powder
fourteen cans of clam chowder.
Forgotten how much you liked that stuff.
Sex and clams; you couldn't get enough
Your driver's license in '79.
These are some of the things you left behind…

A pack of rusty razor blades;
you threatened to use those things one day.
A nickel bag of Mexican pot
you bought downtown in a parking lot.
A wedding band… Where'd that come from?
Forget to tell me about someone?
A bottle of cheap Italian wine.
These are some of the things you left behind.

A ticket stub to a Broadway play.
A button saying "Make My Day".
A broken mirror with a lipstick smear.
A telephone number where the name's unclear.
Two pressed roses in a blank paged book
containing all the notes that you never took.
A Valentine card saying "Please Be Mine".
These are some of the things you left behind.

A rosary, some holy cards.
A photo of your daddy's Brooklyn bar.
A list of possible job interviews;
a list I guess you chose not to use.
A glacine bag with a printed skull;
I didn't know things had gotten that dull?
A note on the door, one word, "Goodbye".
These are some of the things you left behind.

A pair of stockings…
A garter belt…
An autographed picture of Junior Wells…
Cigarettes…
Dental floss…
Clam chowder…
A razor blade
Wedding band…
Broken mirror with a lipstick smear…
A valentine card…
A rosary…
A glacine bag…
Heroin? Oh shit, not heroin…
One word, tacked up on my door.
One word...

"Goodbye"….