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The Popped Hearts - The Second Best Time To Plant A Tree

from SpinTunes 20 Round 2 by Spintunes

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“The best time to plant a tree was thirty years ago. The second-best time is today.”

The last, eponymous verse here was the genesis of the song idea since as serial procrastinator the titular aphorism is one I try to keep close to my (popped) heart. And as a Gen-Xer, the 90s were my misspent youth, and in retrospect clearly the apex of the human experience. Mickey D’s = McDonalds, home of the Happy Meal for kids (and collectible-minded adults), each of which comes with a small prize inside. Chrysler’s child’s-drawing-of-a-car Reliant K model of the early 80s was the kind of beater teens were nursing along in the mid-90s. Billy Corgan-led Smashing Pumpkins released their album Siamese Dream in the summer of 1993, and the song “Today” was a quick favorite of mine. I sprung for a copy on CD, but I was not driving around in anything with a CD player for another decade and felt lucky when there was a cassette deck. Loaves & fishes = bible stuff, oaves = multiple oafs; I am going for a “you chose religion, I chose dissolution” vibe. Hope you enjoy!

lyrics

VERSE
‘93, you and me
At the Mickey D’s
Pooling coins for coke & fries
Back in the time
We couldn’t spare a dime
For a Happy Meal surprise

PRECHORUS
We drive around until the morning in your Reliant K
We smash along with Billy Corgan, Siamese Dream on tape
Push against the edge until it breaks

CHORUS
Today

BRIDGE
But you got into loaves & fishes
I fucked around, found out with oaves & bitches
We both got lost somewhere along the way

VERSE
T
O
D
A
Why do you only talk about
All the ways we missed our chance
As if you never had a doubt
Just a blindside victim of circumstance

PRECHORUS
Well I know decades ago
Was the right time to sow a seed
But I been ‘round enough to know
The second best time to plant a tree

CHORUS
Today

OUTRO
T O D A Why can’t I get out of my own way
T O D A Why can’t you see it’s gonna be OK

credits

from SpinTunes 20 Round 2, released April 4, 2023

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