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A Packed Suitcase

from Wildcat Chuck Charles by Charles Ellsworth

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“I wrote the opening line to ‘A Packed Suitcase’ while traveling solo through the PNW [Pacific Northwest]. One of those overnight drives where you suck down cigarettes like they’re necessary to life, and in a sense they are,” Charles said.

He continued, “You’ve been driving so long that you can’t quite remember where you started, and all at once it happens: the world around you seems to all collapse into a single moment. A memory you’ve purposely misplaced full knowing that one day you would stumble upon it and have to face it, you tell yourself ‘someday, but not today.’ Hoping that when the time comes, you’ve grown and matured enough to be able to wrestle with it and come away unscathed, at the very least still breathing. The memory starts as something small. The curve of a collarbone. A rose-gold ring wrapped around a freckled finger. A crooked smile.” - New Noise Magazine

lyrics

I cross the willamette on a starless winter night
Portland fades as she’s dancing across my mind
When she’d hold the bottle close, and i’d wish that it were me.
She’d say “the liquor works much quicker” than i’ll my whispering.

And I feel so far away
from the love that her and I once made.

But I learned to shoulder all my burdens
and Hide those crosses that I bear.
Her figure dancing in the moonlight,
with those flowers in her hair.
When the first morning light falls
on the windswept carolinas
under an old oak tree with a tire swing
is where I go to find her.

When I feel so far away
from the love that her and I once made.

So I buried my heart on the interstate
fueled by the fire our love once made.
My soul free of the tug-of-war
and I’m stuck wondering what was it all for
when I feel, so far away.
Oh I feel so far away.

I watch the earth pass my foot heavy on the gas.

She learned all about love from a T.V. screen
all those rock and roll songs and shattered dreams.
Her hearts been broken so many times
it keeps healing itself, a little less right.

She’s got a chip on her shoulder and ace up her sleeve
everything she needed to destroy me.
Never needed more than those emerald eyes,
a packed suitcase, and the words “good” “bye.”

So watch me bury my heart on the interstate
fueled by the fire our love once made.
My soul free of the tug-of-war
and I’m stuck wondering what was it all for
when I feel, so far away.
Oh I feel so far away.

I watch the earth pass my foot heavy on the gas.

Under the shadow of the mountains that we fell in love
over the river and the walls my hearts put up
dancing in the breeze, beckoning spring,
no one there to witness just her and me

I feel so far away
Oh a feel so far away.

credits

from Wildcat Chuck Charles, track released October 16, 2015
Rhythm Guitar and Vocals: Charles Ellsworth
Second Rhythm/Lead Guitar: Tres Wilson
Bass: Kevin Schultz
Lead Guitar: Todd Christensen
Drums: Vincent Draper
Cello: Rachel Jorgensen
String Arrangements: Kevin Schultz & Charles Ellsworth

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Charles Ellsworth Brooklyn, New York

Born and raised in the White Mountains of Arizona, Charles Ellsworth first gained an appreciation for a simple, not so distant past. His vivid lyrics and near-familiar melodies weave to tell stories of heartbreak and loneliness while shining a light on the perseverance of the human spirit. ... more

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