Sweet Onion

In a fit of procrastination, instead of doing my usual Internet surfing, I decided to be a bit more creative. I took the lyrics to Light-Rail Coyote by Sleater-Kinney (R.I.P.) -- a song about Portland -- and changed them to reflect life here in WaWa. I found it an amusing exercise -- hopefully you will too. (In case you are not an S-K devotee, lyrics to Light-Rail Coyote can be found here.)

Sweet Onion

Let’s meet in the town where
Traditional and cutting edge meet there
Let’s float down into the midst
Where teetotalers and winos mix
A kid from out in Dayton
Wants to be seen and go out
Let’s borrow my parent’s car
Let’s stay out till sundown there
And Main will be our street
Where the townies and tourists meet
Restaurants, bookstores and galleries
Mix with wine bars and banks galore.

Sweet Onions, Colleges and Wine
(I’m as green as this wheat stalk that bends)
Small Washington town draws you in
(In the air that blows through mighty windmills)
A promise undefined or not
(Where Porsches and tractors share pavement)
Just hang on until April, it’s hot
(And to gain the hope that this town sustains)

We’ll make our home A/C tight
Work all day, rest all night
And hope we’re not blown away
By foul scents or the bourgeoisie
And Adventists rule College Place
Where the poor and the devout meet
The grid that divides us all
Myra Road makes final call
Out at the edge of town
Where airfield runs wineries down
Wild fowl cross highway 12
To feed in the wide green fields

Sweet Onions, Colleges and Wine
(I’m as green as this wheat stalk that bends)
Small Washington town draws you in
(In the air that blows through our mighty windmills)
A promise undefined or not
(Where I take dirt roads to tasting rooms)
Just hang on until April, it’s hot
(And to gain the hope that this town maintains)

And if you wanna be a friend of mine
Follow the Columbia to the east side
Find me on the edge of conservatism
Tell me the country is no place to hide
Take me on a walk through downtown
Through Verve, Hot Poop and Whitman
You came to me in the nick of time
Thankful for the things I can still find

Oh highway 12, show me the way in (3X)
Oh highway 12