the distance

A user on threads replied with a voice note with this song in the background a few days ago, and it was once again a song integral to my life growing up finding me for the first time in a long time. Cake is from my hometown but I didn’t conceptualize that as a child, I just had this album poured into me over and over beginning at 5 years old, and I recommend the whole thing. I remember me and my sisters singing “stick shifts and safety belts, bucket seats have all got to go” from the eighth track on the album in the car when we were little. There’s something about his voice and the melodies and structure of the music that is deeply familiar to me — yes because I began listening to it as a young child but also because there’s something in it that sounds and feels like home. 

The opening lyric is deeply relevant to me right now, but also kind of embodies who I am in an overarching way. In a strange way this song reminds me who I am. It’s magic how lyrics shift and change and find you again when you need them. 

——————

The Distance — Cake
Fashion Nugget, 1996 

https://open.spotify.com/track/0fsz7tJ7UKXT9hliLfO7aE?si=dHJQmxmpTcumF24GN6n_0g&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6kPOXxCYCdXBzEbb9dqE90

Reluctantly crouched at the starting line
Engines pumping and thumping in time
The green light flashes, the flags go up
Churning and burning, they yearn for the cup
They deftly maneuver and muscle for rank
Fuel burning fast on an empty tank
Reckless and wild, they pour through the turns
Their prowess is potent and secretly stern

As they speed through the finish, the flags go down
The fans get up, and they get out of town
The arena is empty, except for one man
Still driving and striving as fast as he can
The sun has gone down and the moon has come up
And long ago somebody left with the cup
But he's driving and striving and hugging the turns
And thinking of someone for whom he still burns

He's going the distance
He's going for speed
She's all alone (all alone)
All alone in her time of need
Because he's racing and pacing and plotting the course
He's fighting and biting and riding on his horse
He's going the distance

No trophy, no flowers, no flashbulbs, no line
He's haunted by something he cannot define
Bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse
Assail him, impale him with monster truck force
In his mind he's still driving, still making the grade
She's hoping in time that her memories will fade
Cause he's racing and pacing and plotting the course
He's fighting and biting and riding on his horse
The sun has gone down and the moon has come up
And long ago somebody left with the cup
But he's striving and driving and hugging the turns
And thinking of someone for whom he still burns

Cause he's going the distance
He's going for speed
She's all alone (all alone)
All alone in her time of need
Because he's racing and pacing and plotting the course
He's fighting and biting and riding on his horse
He's racing and pacing and plotting the course
He's fighting and biting and riding on his horse

He's going the distance
He's going for speed
He's going the distance

Ah no, so sad, alright 
Oh no, oh no, no, no