The Blitz

The scene is a moderately busy city street. A small group of men huddle together against the cold and spontaneously break into song, offering the tale of an ex-footballer and his struggles with addiction at the end of his storied career. The motivation behind this song? NO IDEA WHATSOEVER. Except for the fact that I was in the Nur Ein songwriting competition, and the song title came up, and I felt like doing some a capella. And somehow, the bizarre content/setting/delivery combine to make something with an undeniable truth to it, at least to me anyway. It's too weird to not believe it.


The Blitz

If I saw you today I don't know what I would say
Because I don't like the way you live now
You're not completely to blame 'cause it's the fault of the game
And I know nothing's the same once you're out

You were the heart of the line in 1979
Before you ruptured your spine blocking down
There's more than one quarterback who never saw the attack
Until he's flat on his back wondering how

You made a business of fear for your entire career
When you would blitz from the rear and take 'em down
But soon enough came the day you couldn't play through the pain
You had to give up the game and walk out

It didn't take very long for you to see what was wrong
With all this freedom you suddenly found
You lost the glory and fame that goes with playing the game
And it's just you and the pain hangin' 'round

So pretty soon you will meet another man on the street
Who spends exactly an hour in town
You may have damaged your rep, and yeah you lost half a step
But when you want to you still get around


This song (and all the songs from Onward To Yesterday) can be heard on the music player to the right.