James Mercer’s dad was in the Air Force and he lived in Germany when he was younger. “40 Mark Strasse” was a nickname for a two-lane highway (Bundesstrasse 40) that ran between Kaiserslautern and Landstuhl, both of which had large American military populations. Prostitutes — some young, some not so...
Is it all so very simple
And horribly complex?
You suffer in a thimble
And there's nothing coming next
Your mom smokes in the kitchen
Her voice a cutting drone
To creeping out, you pass the bar
Your father's second home
That leaves you on your own
Nights I'd often watch you
Float across the grounds
Out the gate to the motorway
What secrets have you found?
You had to know I wanted
Something from you then
Too young to know just what it was
Something more than a friend
Is that you at the end?
Where you play in the street at night
You're blown like a broken kite
My girl, you're giving up the fight
Are you gonna let these Americans
Put another dent in your life?
My mother says you're dirty
They're gonna find you dead
But have you got that final chapter
Written in your head?
Cause every single story
Is a story about love
Both the overflowing cup
And the painful lack thereof
You got the heart of a dove
But you play in the street at night (The street at night)
You're blown just like a broken kite (A broken kite)
My girl, you're giving up the fight (Giving up the fight)
You'll have to lose all them childish notions
If you're gonna let these American boys
Put another dent in your life
You play in the street at night (The street at night)
You're blown just like a broken kite (A broken kite)
My girl, you're giving up the fight (Giving up the fight)
You'll have to lose all them childish notions
Are you gonna let these Americans
Put another dent in your life?
40 Mark Strasse was written by James Mercer.
40 Mark Strasse was produced by James Mercer & Greg Kurstin.
The Shins released 40 Mark Strasse on Mon Mar 19 2012.