Good to be Back

Jeremy played music for several years with Nashville songwriter Steve Mitchell (now with The Haphazards) when they both lived in Vancouver in the 1990s. As Jem was working on the lyrics to this song, he kept thinking of one of his favorite Steve tunes “Great to Be Gone”, and he started using his clever chorus line ‘good to be back/great to be gone,’ figuring he’d eventually come up with an original chorus. But it just fit too perfectly! After he sheepishly explained the situation, Steve, with typical generosity, loved the idea and suggested they call it a co-write. A special thanks to Richard Kean (of Jiggernaut and Brizeus) for laying down such a brilliant bagpipe part.

I came in from the future
Put my suitcase by the door
Looked around at the town where it all went down
It looked just like it did before
There were backroom conversations
Selling your soul for a second of fame (superstar)
And there were sexual relations
By any other name

CHORUS:
It’s good to be back
It’s good to be back now
It’s good to be back but as a matter of fact
It’s great to be gone

I dreamed I was a hippy
Back in the Summer of Love
Going to San Francisco
With my suitcase and guitar
I ran with the Jefferson Airplane
Papa John Creach and Mama Cass (oh yes)
And when I woke up in the morning
I put my bare feet in the grass

CHORUS

It’s midnight in Toronto, and
I’m hanging with the hometown boys
Living the days of glory, the porn star stories
Everybody smoking Don Diegos, drinking eighty-dollar
Bottles of wine, little brother I’m fine
I’m just sick and tired and broke (most of the time)
But I’ve got a sweet thing going down in Minneapolis
And everything is all right

CHORUS