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Week 08 - Nik, Newark Saved My Life (200215)

from Song A Week, Volume 5 by James Tristan Redding

/

lyrics

One too many nights we folded cardboard for a bed
Pennies on 5th Avenue between his paws and my dirty head
Collar doesn't lie when it says Nik is man's best friend
And Nik deserves a change

Couldn't get no shut-eye in the town that never sleeps
Started walkin' west toward the cherry blossom trees
The day we crossed that river boy I hit my knees to weep
Nik, let our souls be saved

Bless this city's dyin' streets she always paid the price
Her martyr heart some kinda' brick and mortar Jesus Christ
Wasn't for this darkness I'da never seen the light
Nik, Newark saved my life

Chain link fence and broken glass on damn near every block
Busted out Bodegas next to junkyard auto shops
Title bonds and plywood windows between the vacant lots
Oh Nik what have I done

He cocked his ears, scratched his rear, and curled up in my lap
Closed his eyes with a sigh kinda' sounded like "I love you dad"
Swear I saw him smilin' as he dreamed about alley cats
Nik, I couldn't ask for a better son

Bless this city's dyin' streets she always paid the price
Her martyr heart some kinda' brick and mortar Jesus Christ
Wasn't for this darkness I'da never seen the light
Nik, Newark saved my life

By now I guess you're wonderin' how New Jersey helped me out
The hero here is pretty clear the one that's got a snout
Well I had to spend a couple nights in hell to help me see
My Nik is all I need

credits

from Song A Week, Volume 5, released February 12, 2021

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James Tristan Redding image

James Tristan Redding Nashville, Tennessee

British-American songwriter, singer, audiobook narrator, studio player, Godin Guitars official artist.

Founded global collective www.SongAWeek.org, performance art experience The Under Over: tinyurl.com/uoxuo (song circle underneath a highway) and writing retreat www.TheNashville24.com (annual challenge: write 24 songs in 24 hours).

Cuts by Sarah Harralson, Eli Alger, Emma Gale, David Easterling ... more

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